Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said that the Department of Agriculture (DA), on his instructions, ordered the cancellation of the import permit for rice aboard MV Tay Son 2 several days before the vessel even reached Philippine shores.
The DA Chief said in a statement on Wednesday that this move was made immediately after receiving “derogatory” information about the shipment, which later attempted to leave the Port of Davao.
“Critics of the DA are painting a false picture of this incident, suggesting malice and corruption through insinuations that border on libel… The records will show otherwise. It was the DA, through my office, that stopped the shipment by ordering the Bureau of Plant Industry to cancel its sanitary and phytosanitary import clearance, even though the vessel was already on its way to the Philippines,” Tiu Laurel explained.
He added that the import permit was canceled at the request of Planters Product Inc., which was importing 25-percent broken rice, but he was informed that the shipment contained 5-percent broken rice.
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