Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan on Tuesday, October 7 cited in contempt two persons believed to have been used by smugglers as their “dummy” after they refuse to divulge the full name of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) official they used to transact with.

Cited in contempt were Lujin Arm Tenero of 1024 Consumer Goods Trading and Brenda de Sagun of Berches Consumer Goods Trading who were also both ordered detained in the Senate after senators refused to believe their testimony during the Senate Committee on Agiculture, Food and Agrarian Reforms’ hearing on smuggling.

Pangilinan, Senate agricultural committee chair, and Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito both grilled Tenero and De Sagun over the identity of their clients who they said are responsible for the importation of smuggled goods in the country.

According to Tenero, he only spoke to one “Mr. Carlos” regarding the importation of containers that were declared to contain chicken poppers and chicken lollipops but which were later on discovered to be full of frozen mackerel and round scads.

Tenero insisted he does not know the last name of the said “Mr. Carlos” and that he tried to look for him, but that he could no longer find him. However, both Pangilinan and Ejercito refused to believe Tenero noting that he has been in the trading business since 2017 and is already a veteran in the field.

Tenero, then tearfully appealed to the committee to spare him from contempt, citing that his family is already worried and that his sick mother was already greatly affected.

“Mr. Chair yun lang talaga ang pakilala niya sa akin…di naman kami magtitiwala sa kausap namin or dun sa authorized representative ng consignee po, kasi sila may hawak ng copy ng BL (bill of lading) (Mr. Chair, that's all he introduced me to...we trust the person we're talking to or the authorized representative of the consignee, because they have a copy of the BL (bill of lading),” Tenero told the senators.

“Since pag may hawak ka ng copy ng BL po, consignee at saka authorized representative lang niya po ang authorized na may hawak po nun (once you have a copy of the BL, only the consignee and the authorized representative is authorized to obtain such copy),” he said, adding that he also asked “Mr. Carlos” a copy of a certificate of registration, in exercising due diligence.

But Pangilinan noted that Tenero is diligent in getting and obtaining documents but couldn’t remember the full name of the person he negotiated with. He also noted that “Mr. Carlos” asked Tenero to sign import entry documents for smuggled frozen mackerel worth P68-million which were originally declared as P40-million worth of chicken poppers.

“All we’re asking here is Mr. Carlos’ last name and you refuse to answer. Therefore, because of your refusal to answer, and there’s a motion to cite you in contempt. You are hereby, cited in contempt of this committee,” Pangilinan said.

“Mr. Tenero, 2017 ka pa na broker. Ang hirap naman paniwalaan, matagal ka nang broker, mag sa 10 taon na at nakikipag-kontrata ka at nakikipag usap ka sa mga di mo kilala. Sana maintindihan mo hindi namin nais na ikaw ay ikulong, baka sakalai sa ilang araw na ikaw ay nakapag isip isip, kung kinakailangan mo ng proteksyon ng senado, maibibigay ito sa iyo (you have been a broker since 2017. It is hard to believe, you have been a broker for a long time, for about 10 years, and you have been making contracts and talking to people you do not know. I hope you understand that we do not want you to be locked up. Maybe after a few days you will have time to think, if you need the protection of the Senate, it will be given to you),” Pangilinan said.

“Kung nais mong pumunta muli, sa port area, para hanapin kung sino itong Carlos na sinasabi mo, pwede kang samahan ng Senate sergeant at arms (If you wish to go again, to the port area, to find who this Carlos you are talking about, you can be accompanied by the Senate sergeant at arms),” he said.

At this, Tenero became emotional and insisted that he was just working and that his mother was worried about his condition.

The panel also cited in contempt, De Sagun after admitting that their company’s license was rented by a certain “Mr. Vicente.”

De Sagun, whose P59-million worth of shipping containers were flagged by the BOC, similarly said she also doesn’t know the full name of “Mr. Vicente.”

Investigation, however, revealed that Berches imported 19 container vans that were declared to contain chicken lollipops and chicken poppers, but were discovered to contain carrots and red and white onions.

According to Pangilinan and Ejercito, it is clear that smugglers were only using the brokers and their licenses, but the senators also emphasized that lying in the Senate is unacceptable.

“Ayaw namin na kayo ay ma-contempt... sa inyong ginagawang modus maraming apektado dito, agrikutura natin ang pinapatay sa inyo pong transaksiyon (We don't want you to be cited in contempt... but with the modus operandi you are using, many people are affected here, our agriculture is being killed by your transactions,” said Ejercito.

“Sana po ay makapagisip-isip kayong kung mayroon kayong mga kakilala na kapwa broker na kilala si Carlos at si Vicente, baka pwedeng sabihin para matigil ito, tutal modus na rin ito. Eh nangyaring pinapahiram n’yo lisensiya n’yo. Usong-uso ang nagpapahiram delikado po yan, milyon ang transaksiyon tapos hindi n’yo kilala (I hope you can think about it, if you have acquaintances who are fellow brokers who know Carlos and Vicente, maybe you can tell them so that this can be stopped. After all, this is a modus operandi. It so happens that you are lending your license. Lending is a trend, but it's dangerous, millions are being transacted and you don't know them),” he added.