February 4, 2015
Zamboanga Today By Philip Abuy
The city council has formally asked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) yesterday, to conduct an in-depth investigation on the current rice and sugar smuggling.
Subjecting all those suspected of involvement, ranging from local government officials, low and high-ranking police and military officers, including employees and officials of Bureau of Customs (BOC), Philippine Ports Authority (PPA), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), and PNP-Maritime Command (MARICOM).
The said move which was in a form of a resolution filed by Councilor Mel Sadain was addressed to NBI central office.
Sadain introduced said resolution in response to Councilor Elong Natividad’s privilege speech, daring all who have knowledge of people involved in smuggling activities in the city, to come out in the open, face the public and show proofs of their allegations.
Natividad even urged all concerned government agencies to conduct an honest to goodness investigation, to determine those behind the smuggling activities, and to penalize the guilty parties.
“Este dia, ta llama yo contodo agencia de govierno, que ase el propio investigasyon, y si quien tiene el culpa, debe impone pesao pena de ley”, reads Natividad’s message.
Natividad, who used to sit as the city council’s floor leader and chairman of the committee on peace and order, was booted out of said positions during the legislature’s maiden session last January 27, after text messages accusing him of receiving bribe money from local smugglers, proliferated for weeks.
The topnotch 2nd district councilor from Tetuan however, denied all these allegations, which he suspected to be the handiwork of people, interested in his positions at the Sangguniang Panlungsod, and those whom he earlier urged sacked from their positions for their inability to stop smuggling activities at the Zamboanga City port.
Sadain on the other hand, said that by asking NBI to step into the picture, is “in order to clarify and make known to the public, that the city council has nothing to do with smuggling, which has lately pestered not only the local legislature’s but that of the whole city government’s image”.
Sadain said, although he admits not knowing how NBI-Manila would do the investigation, “but this is better, if only to show to the people that our city council does not condone, much more, protects smugglers in Zamboanga City”.
Sadain’s motion was unanimously approved by all councilors present in yesterday’s regular session.