Subic yet so small

Do you think that the Bureau of Customs knows about this solid case of fuel smuggling by the millions of liters, at that -- over at the Subic Bay Freeport?

Next question: What is Customs doing about it?
From what I heard, Gloriaetta already gave somebody a dressing down for the much talked about smuggling at the Freeport.

The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) already found airtight evidence on the smuggling.In fact, SBMA already calculated the amount of taxes and duties that the modus operandi is costing this cute administration of Gloriaetta.

And it’s only more than P500 million so far this year!As a rule, fuel coming into the country through the Subic Freeport must stay at the SBMA area. One fortunate fuel importer (a company that, according to our sources, also sells second-hand equipment, and whose owner, with initials “JL,” happens to be the “compadre” of a big shot at the SMBA) takes the tax-free fuel out of Subic, supposedly for use by ocean-going vessels docked at the Port of Manila.
Now, as far as I know, those vessels use bunker fuel. Guess what was taken out of Subic by the millions of liters? Right, diesel!

According to records collated by the SBMA, the lucky son-of-his-mother smuggler was able to slip out of the free port some 60 trucks a day over a long stretch.
Meaning, it was not a small operation. And it could not be a lapse in law enforcement.
Since it is so big, somebody must already be turning a blind eye somewhere.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Secretary Alberto Romulo found a way to charge us dearly for our passports.Remember that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) issues about 7,000 passports a day. I mean, come on, this passport thing is big business!

I only found out about Romulo’s new business strategy, because the good secretary wrote the Department of Justice, asking for an opinion on a certain “donation.”
The issue involves a French company called Hologram Industries SA, which would be giving the DFA -- for free -- a “machine” for the so-called machine-readable passports, or MRP.

Romulo asked the Department of Finance whether or not the, er, “donation” was legal, considering the court cases over the controversial DFA project to introduce the MRP.
The DFA already contracted out the MRP project to a company called BCA before Romulo became the boss. When the DFA cancelled the contract, whatever it is that hits the fan really had hit the fan.

And so, for whatever ungodly reason, Romulo supposedly asked Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales to “forget” to number the legal opinion that the DFA wanted.
An “un-numbered” legal ruling means that the Department of Justice opinion could not be released to the public. Sorry, boss, no dice!

Still, the Department of Finance was not too definitive in its opinion, in effect, saying that the donation was legal, as long as the DFA followed certain other executive orders, with which the donation unfortunately could not comply.

What Romulo forgot to mention to the Department of Justice were probably the strings attached to the donation. You know, the supply of the laminates for the MRP.
Now, an issue of overpricing erupted on the same laminates, which were to be provided by the same company that cornered the supply of security paper to the central bank, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

That was courtesy of a certain “FC,” whose family owns the company called Star Paper, which happens to be the local agent of -- what else -- a French company.
I’ll give you one good guess on its name.

METHINKS THE Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) should just concentrate on cases against the Marcos family (plus their cronies) in which it has solid evidence. Then we have a better chance of getting back Marcos “hidden wealth.”
Instead, the PCGG wastes a lot of time, effort, and money (meaning, taxpayer’s money) on cases anchored on rumors.

By Conrado Banal III
Inquirer