INQUIRY ON RICE SMUGGLING: Sen. Cynthia A. Villar, chair of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, grills rice broker Eugene Pioquinto of Star Craft International Corporation, E.A. Santos Customs Brokerage, during the senate inquiry on rice smuggling. Villar insists that rice importation without the necessary Import Permits amounts to smuggling, but this was countered by Pioquinto. Villar also questions Pioquinto on his association with another rice broker, Davidson Bangayan alias David Tan, but he claims the latter was a mere acquaintance despite the photos shown by the senator, showing their “closeness.”