Bangayan Engaged in Rice Smuggling

The Senate Committee on Agriculture on Wednesday said their investigation have established that businessman Davidson Bangayan, who consistently denied he is ‘David Tan’, is into illegal rice trade.

Agriculture committee chairperson Senator Cynthia Villar said whether or not Bangayan is indeed “David Tan,” the investigation already showed that the he is engaged in rice smuggling.

During the hearing at the Senate on Wednesday, Bangayan has admitted that he is in partnership once with Mary Joyce Lim and Willy Sy. Lim and Sy were known to be “brokers” using farmers’ cooperatives during a Senate inquiry on rice smuggling in 2012.

Villar, after the hearing, said “Na-establish natin na si David Bangayan, nandoon. Empleyado niya itong mga broker, o itong mga fixer. E di siya iyon.”

Villar added Bangayan can no longer deny involvement in illegal rice business, since his office address was the same as Sy’s.

Not ‘David Tan’

Businessman Davidson Bangayan remained firm that he is not the suspected rice smuggler known as “David Tan,” despite court documents showing he used the alias.

Bangayan gave negative answers whenever senators would asked him if he and “David Tan” are the same person.

At the start of his testimony, Bangayan said “My name is Davidson Bangayan. I’m not David Tan.”

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who is also present during the hearing, said her department already has two witnesses who said that Bangayan used the alias “David Tan.”

De Lima even presented to the committee court documents from a libel case in 2005 that Bangayan supposedly filed against Jesus Arranza, chairman of the Federation of Philippine Industries.

De Lima explained that in these court documents, Bangayan admitted to being “David Tan.”

The Justice secretary added that in those papers, Bangayan explicitly admitted that “Bangayan a.k.a (also known as) David Tan.”

“How come in that document, he explicitly admitted that Bangayan aka David Tan? At sa attachment niya, Bangayan aka David Tan? Siya ang nag-attach noon,” de Lima said.

Bangayan’s recurring denial infuriated Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, who said that he also has “court documents” against the suspected rice smuggler. Enrile revealed that in a case in Singapore, Bangayan also admitted that he used the alias “David Tan.”

Source: Gma News Online