Baseless accusation

Lately, the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines (CeMAP) has been the news as the group warned about the rising incidence of technical smuggling of cement in the country.

According to CeMAP president Ernesto Ordoñez, about 75 percent of the 161,000 metric tons of cement that entered the country in the first quarter of this year were technically smuggled, in particular by cheating on freight.

CeMAP claimed that of the first quarter cement imports, nine undervalued freight shipments of cement from Vietnam and China went almost undetected at $10 per MT and as low as $3 per MT, significantly lower than the $19 per MT average freight cost for the two countries. These products came in from the ports of Puerto Princesa, Davao, La Union and Iloilo.

Ordoñez said that considering a conservative freight rate of $19 per MT, the estimated value added tax left unpaid due to these undervaluation amount to P8 million.

He warned that if freight undervaluation goes unidentified and unpunished, this may lead not only to more such cases, but also to more serious violations such as cement misclassification and substandard cement which pose imminent danger to safety and lives.

There are however groups that are questioning CeMAP and Ordoñez’ claims.

The Kilusan Kontra Kabulukan at Katiwalian Inc. or 4K doubts the integrity of the alleged rising technical smuggling in the cement industry as well as Ordoñez’ claim that about 75 percent of cement imports during the first quarter were technically smuggled.

4K secretary general Rodel Pineda noted that something fishy is going on, saying that if this is the case, then how come that the price of the local cement in the Philippines is much higher than the alleged imported cement from Vietnam.

Pineda said that most of the local cement manufacturer and limestone mining in the Philippines are owned by Swiss, French, Japanese and Mexican nationals and that if there is one thing that’s really happening, it is the continued operation of the cartel in the cement industry.

He emphasized that if CeMAP is truly being nationalistic about buying Filipino first, the local cement should be cheaper than the imported ones from Vietnam. 

What makes CeMAP’s claim even more dubious, according to Pineda, is the fact that the cement acquired from Vietnam has a PS Mark from the Department of Trade and Industry even before it was released for public consumption and that a DTI representative was even to Vietnam to perform quality test.

If what Mr. Ordonez is saying is true, he should ask the DTI or even file cases of corruption against those DTI officials, Pineda said.

 He stressed that there is no technical smuggling going on and what the cement cartel is trying to do is maintain a shortage in their products to make a killing because infrastructure is booming in the country.

As to the accusation of Ordoñez that there were nine undervalued  shipments of cement from Vietnam and China, Pineda pointed out this is a clear case of libel because he must consider the model of ships used by the importers, the backload of the vessels, volume contract, time charter, bareboat charter, age of vessels and others.

Pineda said President Aquino signed Executive Order No. 22 reducing import duties on cement and cement clinker to zero  because of shortage in local production that has affected the price of the cement in the country.

He added that the claim that there was a misdeclaration of freight has no basis, explaining that Bureau of Customs regulation freight should be minimum of 10 percent of the declared value and that inn all importation, BOC will not approve if freight is below 10 percent.

He noted that a number of factors affect freight and it is malicious on the part of Ordoñez to insinuate misdeclaration and substandard product, adding that the latter is just bullying traders into stopping their cement imports.

Who is to blame

Here is what we know so far: that five people died during a recent music festival in Pasay, that autopsy conducted on some of the victims revealed the use of prohibited substances/drugs, that somebody sold to them or gave them these pills that caused their death due to multiple organ failure. Investigations by the National Bureau of Investigation are still underway, but in the meantime, a number of questions still remain unanswered and generally, what really transpired that night is still a big mystery.

From the bits and pieces were gather, we have learned that new drug cocktails are entering the country at an alarming rate, that security was tight (as confirmed by actress Alma Concepcion) but drugs were not considered a security risk for the annual concert, which has been drug-free since it started three years ago.

But five people died and it is understandable that the public and the relatives of the victims want to blame someone else – like the event organizers or those who allegedly sold the drug cocktails.

During a recent congressional hearing, PNP National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) Chief Police Senior Superintendent Manuel Lukban, Jr. insisted that there was no drug dealing during that particular concert and that the victims took the drugs outside of the event, even before the concert began.

Lukban has suggested parents monitor their children’s social media activity, because apparently, social media is becoming a vehicle for illegal drug transactions as well.

Nobody saw anybody selling drugs during the concert. What some people saw were event goers who were acting as if they were high on drugs.

I have attended a number of concerts and seldom do I see intensified police visibility or drug-sniffing K9 dogs or security personnel going through our stuff looking for items as small as medicines. Drug searching has never been high on the list of security measures during concerts nowadays. So why should it be during that particular music festival?

My heart goes out to the families of the victims. Let’s be clear about that. But we should also consider the fact that most of the victims are old enough to decide that drug use is wrong, that claiming that the victims were forced into taking the drugs may be hard to prove, and that the event organizers can only do so much.

I am all for looking for those bad guys who sold those drugs to these victims. I even support the reimposition of the death penalty and death to drug pushers. These drug manufacturers are dumping their stuff here because we are too lenient on drug traffickers. A lot of the killings and rape happening in this country are done by people under the influence of drugs. Most countries in the region still have the capital and impose death penalty for drug trafficking. Indonesia has said that it will retain the death penalty for drug traffickers. Why shouldn’t we do the same?

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