Finally, the long wait is over. After five years of anxiously waiting for the government to file a case against Davidson Bangayan who is also known as David Tan, allegedly a big time rice smuggler, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has found probable cause to press charges against Bangayan. And if there is anybody who is most happy about the recent DOJ findings, it is definitely me.
As an anti-smuggling advocate. I have been involved in other legal issues concerning smuggling, an economic scourge that causes the government to lose over P200 billion in revenues from duties and taxes on imported goods each year. But the Bangayan case is an important one for me, for I have been charged, not only once but twice, by Bangayan with libel on the issue. Both were, however, dismissed by the courts.
Thus, for clarity, allow me to share the reasons why I am really glad about the recent DOJ findings.
Five years ago, during the height of a Senate investigation about the rampant rice smuggling in the country, a certain David Tan was among those being suspected to be the leader of a bigtime rice smuggling syndcate. However, the investigation was stalled when investigators could not pinpoint the real identity of David Tan.
It was at this point that during a media forum at the Bureau of Customs, I presented a document that linked David Tan and Davidson Banagayan, a scrap metal dealer, to be one and the same person. The document was issued by a Singaporean company who sought my help after encountering some problems with Bangayan’s company in the Philippines in one of its transactions. The story was picked-up by a major newspaper.
And for that, I was charged with libel. The first libel case filed against me by Bangayan said in his complaint affidavit: “I am sure Mr. Arranza is referring to me in the newspaper because I am the only person by the name of Davidson Bangayan a.k.a. David Tan”. Bangayan’s statement, according to some legal minds, was a virtual admission that David Tan and Davidson Bangayan are one and the same person.
In fact, in one of the Senate hearings on rice smuggling where I was one of the invited resource persons, no less than then Davao City Mayor and now Philippine President Rodrigo Roa Duterte who was also attending the Senate hearing, corroborated my earlier statements when he said Davidson Bangayan is the same person as David Tan.
The five-year wait was, indeed, long. But I never lost hope. I still believe in the Philippine justice system, and that Bangayan’s day of reckoning with the law will come. And the recent DOJ findings only prove that no matter how long it takes, the long arm of the law will eventually catch up with those legally answerable for their misdeeds, malfeasance and and illegal activities.
Let me, therefore, express my deep appreciation and thanks to the Duterte administration, especially Department of Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra, for giving us the confidence that justice prevails in the country.
Kudos to the President and the Justice secretary. As law and order advocates, we are inspired to get even more involved in the campaign against all forms of criminality, if only to help the government uphold the rule of law.