December 15, 2024 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Customs officials and personnel are too powerful, especially when they are backed by the powers-that-be in government, businessman Mark Taguba said during the 13th hearing of the quad committee of the House of Representatives.
Taguba also claimed that corrupt Bureau of Customs officials and personnel, especially those belonging to the Customs Command Center, are earning billions from tara or grease money.
During the hearing, Taguba said prior to his recent conviction for multiple charges of drug smuggling involving P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs from China seized by authorities in Valenzuela City in 2017, business for him had been very profitable.
He said this profitability came after paying P5 million in “enrollment fee” to the “Davao Group,” which he described as a mafia-type syndicate in smuggling allegedly headed by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte, son of former president Duterte.
Being enlisted in the Davao group, he added, was a worthy investment since it solved the problem of having the containers held without legal basis.
“Ang all-in ko po kasi, P170,000 po (per container). Kasama rin po kasi doon ’yung duties and taxes at shipping line. Umaabot po ako ng 100 (containers) kada isang linggo (The all-in rate is P170,000 per container. This include duties, taxes and shipping line. I have 100 containers per week),” Taguba said.
“They have the right to hold your container. As a businessman, rather than lose income and go through their lengthy process, you pay grease money via the tara or payoff system to ensure the release of your containers. That is why I said all in,” he added.
Since joining the Davao Group, Taguba said all his transactions were included in the “green (express) lane.”
“The only proof that I can give you (that I paid the enrolment fee of P5 million) is that all my transactions are green lane. All my documents, when you compare it to a fair transaction, are with P40,000 tax,” Taguba said.
According to Taguba, the Customs Command Center personnel have the power to “unfairly hold” any shipment.
“I was being harassed and was referred by someone I know – Jojo Bacud – to Tita Nani and they told me they are the most powerful there and that you cannot transact with Customs without being part (of the Davao Group), you cannot have your container released. If you did not give them grease money, you will be harassed, they will hold your container hostage,” Taguba said.
While admitting that he did not personally meet Paolo Duterte, Taguba said he is convinced that the tara system in the bureau will never happen without the consent of the people who are in power at that time.
“Up until now, I wonder why they were not charged in our case,” Taguba said.
He also repeatedly denied being a drug smuggler, saying he did not know that the shipment included billions of pesos worth of narcotics hidden inside metal cylinders.
Taguba claimed that the packing list shown to him did not include the metal cylinders.
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