Camille P. Balagtas

People's TONIGHT

August 5, 2002

Senator Ralph Recto today backed Malacanang's move to hail to court traders who allegedly smuggled rice in to the country by the boatload.

But Recto said those who were charged by the government today represent a "few grains in a whole sack of people" involved in the "rice smuggling octopus."

Recto recalled that in the first ten months of 2001, 59 shipments of smuggled rice fell in the Bureau of Customs' (BOC) hands.

During that period, 897,507 bags of rice from abroad were confiscated by authorities.

Recto praised as a "good start" in the anti-smuggling campaign the filing by President Arroyo of smuggling and falsification of documents charges against the suspects in the smuggling of 35,000 bags of rice in Tabaco port in Albay province last September.

Included in those ordered prosecuted was a judge who issued a temporary restraining order against the arrest of the suspects that resulted in the rice shipment slipping through the hands of authorities.

Recto said the government should prosecute those involved in the 59 cases of rice smuggling in 2001.

"Tabaco is just one of the ports of call of smuggler ships," he said.

While most of the smuggled rice were intercepted in the 'big ports of Manila and Cebu," Recto said there were also foiled attempts to bring in rice through secondary ports such as Catbalogan (Samar), Malag (Davao Sur0, Pulupandan (Negros Occidental) and Liloan (Leyte).

Recto said the filing of smuggling charges should proceed on a "port by port basis," in order to deter would be smugglers from docking their ships in not-so-busy ports. ///camille p. balagtas

Camille P. Balagtas

People's TONIGHT

Aug.5, 2002

POT SESSION IN YOUTH CONCERT

"Proliferation of illegal drugs is inevitable."

Alarmed on the tremendous problem of drugs victimizing mostly youth, Senator Tessie Aquino Oreta urged the government to take an immediate action on a reported "pot session" held during a recent weekend concert in Makati City.

Oreta who called on the Philippine National Police revealed that prohibited substances such as marijuana and Ecstasy pills were openly sold during this recent event with mostly young people in attendance.

Oreta further revealed that drug pusher reportedly were able to openly peddle marijuana sticks and Ecstasy pills to concert goers during the Lotus Eaters rock concert at the Rockwell Center last Saturday.

"What will the PNP do with these reports? Our law enforcers should not let this incident pass," Oreta said. "they should investigate these claims especially amid Malacanang's get-tough against crime.

Reports says that several concert goers were surprise when unidentified persons approached them during the concert to offer marijuana sticks at P50 each and Ecstasy pills for P2,000 each.

The air reeked of marijuana smoke during the concert, the reports added.

Oreta expressed concern over these reports, saying that this blatant defiance of the law shows that even small-time drug pushers are unafraid to ply their illegal trade because of the growing perception tha the police are helpless in curbing crime despite Malacanang's get-tough stance.

She said the recent incident at Rockwell should prompt the PNP to implement tighter security measures during similar gatherings to shield the youth from the nefarious activities of drug traffickers.

Earlier, Oreta also reminded law enforcers to remain vigilant against small-time narcotics trafficking inside campuses, especially in the wake of warnings coming from civic groups on the worsening drug scourge spreading inside the schools.

Oreta said drug pushers usually tap the youth market especially during the schools year, peddling prohibited drugs in small quantities to make them more affordable and enticing to their young victims.

She pointed to earlier reports about shabu or the so-called poor man's cocaine being sold in small quantities worth only P100 while marijuana is being peddled at just P10 per tea bag.

Besides pushing or selling drugs in schools, drug peddlers even tap students to act as couriers of their prohibited substances, Oreta said.///camille p. balagtas