Senate probe of Customs payola sought
Senator Antonio Trillanes IV (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV has asked the Senate to look into the personalities alleged by Sen. Panfilo Lacson as payola recipients, collectors, bagmen as well as bribe givers and big players of smuggling at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Trillanes filed Senate Resolution No. 474 on Aug. 24 directing the committee on ways and means to conduct the inquiry “on the possible violations in Republic Act No. 10863 or the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act of the Philippines.”
Trillanes’ call came a day after Lacson delivered a privilege speech on the floor identifying the people — led by former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon — benefiting from a payola system at the BOC and those paying them in exchange for the release of their goods.
Lacson bared a “tara,” or payoff list, at the BOC in light of the attempt to smuggle P6.4-billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth).
The Senate blue ribbon is conducting an inquiry on the confiscated shipment from China that managed to make it pass through the BOC in May and ended up in a warehouse in Valenzuela City, where customs agents recovered it with the help of a tip from their Chinese counterparts.
The committee chaired by Sen. Richard Gordon will hold another hearing on Tuesday.
In his resolution, Trillanes noted that being the “government’s main revenue-generating agency,” the BOC was unfortunately the top agency with lost revenue as cited by a 2014 Global Financial Integrity report as $1 in every $4 “goes unreported to Customs officials.”
He mentioned that the congressional inquiry into the shabu shipment also revealed a payola system at the BOC.
Trillanes pointed out that Lacson and even Customs “fixer” Mark Taguba II had “revealed a long list of names which included the then Commissioner Faeldon himself, deputy commissioners, members of the command center, collectors and the bagmen allegedly accepting payoffs from players in the bureau.”
He cited Taguba’s claim that he paid P27,000 per container as tara, which meant the government was losing P98.5 billion a year considering that the BOC processes 10,000 containers a day.
“This is twice the target revenue to be collected if the tax on sugar-sweetened beverages will be imposed,” Trillanes said.
As this developed, the House of Representatives’ dangerous drugs committee is likely to recommend illegal drug charges against Taguba and several others over the smuggling of P6.4-billion worth of shabu in May.
Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, dangerous drugs committee chair, said his committee would recommend in its report the prosecution of “all private individuals involved in this smuggling of shabu” for importation of illegal drugs, a violation of Section 4 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, as well as direct bribery.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the blue ribbon committee had theoretical jurisdiction on the BOC issue because it involves alleged corruption.
In a radio interview on Sunday, Drilon said he believed the Senate should investigate Lacson’s expose and that it would be better if Faeldon “tells all.”
“Maybe it’s necessary that once and for all, Faeldon should tell everything,” Drilon said.
Faeldon has denied Lacson’s allegations against him and had accused his son and namesake, Panfilo Lacson Jr., of smuggling cement through undervaluation.
The senator has denied Faeldon’s claims and said there was no smuggling because cement is not subject to tariffs and customs duties but only to the value added tax.
Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Glenn Anthony Soco said the expose of Lacson should serve as a reminder for individuals in the public and private sectors to avoid corruption.
“Our businessmen and Customs officials need to be reminded that they should not be corrupt… this has to be cleared, this clearly has to stop,” he said.
But Soco also said government officials should have a bigger accountability “because they are in government office.”
“They’re supposed to protect the taxpayers… They should also set as an example to other agencies. It’s a very bad indication of how our government system works,” he said. —WITH REPORTS FROM MOREXETTE ERRAM AND VINCE F. NONATO
