Senator
Panfilo Lacson’s privilege speech in the Senate on the alleged corruption at
the Bureau of Customs.
Full
text quoted below:
“Hell
is empty, and all the devils are here.” So said William Shakespeare many, many
years ago. Little did he imagine at that time that more than 10,000 kilometers
away and some 400 years later, he would be describing our present day Bureau of
Customs. Thus, let me update Shakespeare by paraphrasing him - “Hell is empty
and all the devils are at the Bureau of Customs.”
 |
| Senator Panfilo Lacson in his privilege speech regarding the alleged corruption in BOC (photo credit to philstar) |
And for
the devils, the Bureau of Customs is heaven - a heaven that is a haven for
crooks, criminals, malefactors, and faeldons… sorry, I meant felons.
Mr.
President, I stand on a question of personal and collective privilege on a
matter that this representation has found repulsive and reprehensible since the
start of my career as a public servant.
In my
years of public service I have always taken the adage:
“In
life there are 3C’s: CHOICE, CHANCE, CHANGE. You must make the choice, to take
the chance, if you want anything in life to change.”
Alas,
Mr. President, while we see a ray of hope in many government offices, it is
undeniable that, over the years, Customs seems to be the one office where
darkness and evil always triumph.
A fact
underscored by the oft-repeated tale about this lowly guy whose driving
ambition was to find employment at the Bureau of Customs. Thanks to the
intercession of his congressman, he was able to get a clerical job. After a
month of working, he was surprised to find a pay envelope.
“Wow,
may sweldo pa pala dito,” he happily exclaimed.
Mr.
President, no matter how we pull in the reins, the Bureau of Customs fails big
time in our government’s fight against graft and corruption.
The
facts are telling: As per the Social Weather Station, the BOC had consistently
topped their polls as the MOST CORRUPT government agency from 2005 to 2016.
Here’s
the problem - periodically, the headlines shout of yet another big tale of
corruption at the Bureau of Customs. But the anger and indignation are not
sustained. **
The
corruption mess is deliberately downplayed by the Customs cretins and consigned
to the dustbin of journalism history, ably assisted by their cohorts of PR
firms, always ready and able to summarily kill a story that puts the bureau in
a bad light.
How
many of you still remember the case six years ago of a Customs clerk named
Paulino Elevado, who was discovered by accident, literally, to be the owner of
a pricey Porsche Carrera sports car? Aside from his Porsche, this Elevado also
owned a fleet of six other luxury cars, two houses in an upscale subdivision.
His salary? 9,000 pesos per month.
Clerk
pa lang yan, hindi pa bossing.
It is
time to bring the intensity of the war against drugs to the war against
corruption.
Ramdam
na ramdam ang war against drugs.
Araw
araw, ang daming napapatay.
Pero,
ang war against corruption, bakit wala na yata tayong naririnig na nakukulong?
I have
always believed that in the fight against corruption, we should only have one
single standard.
More
importantly, we should not attempt to find who our allies, friends, or enemies
are. Regardless of anything or anybody, corruption is evil. And there can be,
there should be, no compromise with evil.
For
over a decade, the Bureau of Customs failed to show improvement in fighting corruption. **
The
most recent scandal, however, closely impacts the administration’s war on drugs
-- the very centerpiece of President Duterte’s campaign promises. In fact,
drugs and corruption are the two issues that President Duterte emphasizes in
his public speeches and media interviews as tops in his list of priorities.
This
makes the issue at hand more wanting and controversial than the same-old
stories of Customs’ improprieties.
Last
Sunday, President Duterte has announced the appointment of PDEA Director General
Isidro Lapeña to replace Bureau of Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon in the wake of
the P6.05 billion shabu shipment from China.
Mr.
President, I pondered that delivering this privilege speech today might be
likened to beating a dead horse. However, Mr. President, I have come to realize
that when it comes to national interest, you do not deal with just one horse.
Instead, you decimate the entire stud.
Nearly
three months ago, media headlined a story of the seizure by local authorities
of 604 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride in a brokerage warehouse in
Valenzuela City. This latest drug haul is estimated to have a retail value of
Php 6.05 billion. **
Initial
reports indicated that this successful apprehension of a big haul of illegal
drugs was a product of intelligence sharing and cooperation against
cross-border smuggling between China and the Philippines Customs authorities.
However,
Mr. President, you do not need a title nor a law degree to postulate that
something was terribly wrong.
The
story as it unfolds sounds more like the inspiration behind the hit movie
title, “KITA KITA.”
First,
KITANG KITA natin, because it was so obvious that the enormous shipment was
successfully smuggled under the noses or through the indispensable
participation of Customs officials.
Second,
the huge amount involved showed the obvious - KITA ang KITA. We can see the
peso signs in billions.
This
exactly is what prompted the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee led by Senator Dick
Gordon, in aid of legislation, to conduct an inquiry on what looked like the
fast and furious smuggling of 604 kilos of shabu, contradicting the
government’s intensified war against drugs.
During
four public hearings, we have uncovered the identities of key personalities and
their modus operandi.
KITA
ang KITA. We can easily see the incomes of several Customs officials. A
self-confessed “player” a.k.a fixer, Mark Taguba confessed about some payoffs.
First, in an executive session, eventually in open public hearings. Yesterday,
he presented few names of the Customs officers and bagmen whom he had
transactions with. However, Taguba did not spill all the beans. **
KITANG
KITA natin. We discovered the labyrinth and lexicon of the criminal inside the
Bureau of Customs:
The
consignee-for-hire;
The
selective lane mechanism;
The
payola system;
The
partner-in-crime relationship between Chinese nationals and our corrupt
government officials, complete with middlemen and bagmen.
It is a
smuggling mafia out there, Mr. President, a criminal state that has no fear of
government nor the president.
Kawawa
ang Republika ng Pilipinas.
Suffice
to say, Mr. President, that our quest to dig up how 604 kilos of shabu neatly
hidden in five (5) cylindrical roller printing machines from China managed to
slip under the BOC officials’ noses has opened up a whole cylinder of worms.
During
the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Commissioner Faeldon admitted
that he was aware of the so-called “Tara” system even before assuming office.
He said
he tried. His excuse: He could not investigate the matter because he was
helplessly alone in eradicating corruption in his domain.
To be
more specific, Faeldon said “The appointment of the officers in charge in the
probe was just December or January. So for the first 6 months, I was working
alone”.
Boo-Hoo!
Tell that to the marines, Mr. Faeldon, but not to this institution. **
Mr.
President, records show that as early as July 1, 2016, he already hired the
services of Gerardo O. Gambala, Milo D. Maestrecampo, Atty. Mandy Therese M.
Anderson and Henry Anthony M. Torres as technical assistants each receiving a
monthly compensation of Php 40,000 to 50,000.
KITANG
KITA, the lies.
Mr. President,
even granting Mr. Faeldon’s assertion that he was working alone, if he was the
principled man that he said he is, he should have stood firm even if he was
alone.
As head
of the Bureau, with the backing of no less than the President of the Republic
of the Philippines, Commissioner Faeldon should have started the cleansing in
the Bureau by eliminating what has been corrupting the agency for so long, the
“Tara” system.
Unfortunately,
instead of going against the system, siya ang kinain ng sistema, thereby
effectively tolerating and even promoting the impunity of corruption.
Loud
whispers in the four corners of the Bureau of Customs compound tell of a
100-million-peso ‘pasalubong' to the newly-installed Commissioner, a quarter of
which, or 25 million pesos was retained as finder’s fee by his middleman named
Joel Teves.
If in
the AFP, under a previous administration, you end your stint with the infamous
“Good bye Pabaon,” sa Bureau of Customs naman you start your stint with a
“Welcome Pasalubong.” **
Holy
mackerel! Welcome pa lang, may kita na.
It is
an outright cash incentive.
Accepting
this pasalubong is a slippery slope.
As they
say, “Corruption is like a ball of snow. Once it's set a rolling it must
increase”.
Once
one accepts the pasalubong, then the ball of corruption starts to snowball.
At, pag
nasarapan na, hahanap-hanapin pa ang dagdag-kita.
And
just like taking illegal drugs, they find themselves addicted to bribes in
exchange for favors. Tuloy ang ligaya ng mga corrupt. Indeed, loose morals will
blur lines.
How can
we stop the importation of illegal drugs at the Bureau of Customs if the graft
activities of its officials and personnel and the corrupt system persist in the
seaports and airports?
The
issue at hand would have never happened if there was no collusion by someone
with somebody from the inside, whether it is a middle-level official of the
bureau or all the way up.
Kung
walang kita, lahat makikita. Kung may kita - eh, wala talagang pagpupuslit na
makikita.
Mr.
President, everybody knows, at the Bureau of Customs, it’s “everybody happy”.
They have this so called “payday” Friday / TGIF / Friday-three o’clock-habit,
or whatever day of the week and hour of the day they now choose to make
themselves happy, and yes - filthy rich. **
So many
monikers have been coined for this joyous tradition at the BOC but all refer to
a weekly assembly of several customs officials and selected employees, where
multimillion peso bribes otherwise known as “Tara” are given and divided up.
Mr.
President, for the past few weeks, I have been expressing my disbelief with
President Duterte’s unusual calm and gentle reaction to the alleged involvement
of his people in Customs to the massive volume of drugs that easily made its
way to our controlled borders.
Nevertheless,
after weeks of public outcry here, there and everywhere for the removal of
Faeldon, President Duterte has finally acted and replaced him as Customs
chief. Even for an “honest man,” sabi nga ho natin, it is better late than
never.
Now, in
case our distinguished colleagues are wondering how and from whom I got all
these information, let me tell you as a background, Mr. President, with a
little bit of exaggeration - si Nick Faeldon na lang yata ang hindi
nakapag-ambag ng datos na ipapakita ko sa inyo sa mga susunod na sandali.
Indeed,
when the so-called Customs payola or “Tara” hit the fan and made it to the
headlines, information came pouring in.
Quite a
number of top and middle-level Customs officials and employees, as well as
brokers, even a civic-minded individual who has been gathering information on
this matter for the longest time started contacting our office. At least two of
those I mentioned directly came to us to provide their own versions of the
“Tara” list. **
From
various sources inside and outside the Customs Bureau that I had interacted
with over the past two weeks regarding the “Tara” list, we carefully vetted and
cross-matched each and every information to come up with an objectively
filtered and detailed list of who and how much each office or official in the
Bureau collects per container per day.
From
the list furnished us by various sources, a “standard tara” amounting to a low
of P19,000 to a high of P45,000 is paid to the Customs officials in the Central
Office for each container.
On top
of the “standard tara” paid to Customs Central Office, Manila International
Container Port (MICP) officials and employees also collect payola in the amount
of P14,700 (on the low side) and P23,700 (on the high side) for 40-footer
containers. Hence, the total tara being paid for each container is from P33,700
to P68,700.
For a
40-footer container for the Port of Manila (POM), the tara of the Customs
officials and employees amounts to P15,700 to P26,700. If we add this to the
standard tara mentioned above, the total tara ranges from P34,700 to P71,700.
For a
20-footer container, an additional P12,200 to P20,700 tara for the Customs
officials and employees in the Manila International Container Port (MICP) is
added to their standard tara, making a total tara for each 20-footer container
amounting to P31,200 to P65,700. **
For the
Port of Manila (POM), Customs officials and employees are receiving taras from
a low of P13,200 to as high as P23,700 making the total tara for a 20 footer
ranging from a low P32,200 to a high of P68,700.
From
this, the share of each office or person within the Bureau can range from a low
of P200 to a high of P15,000 per container. Believe it or not, officials from
the top offices of the Bureau down to those who monitor the “Gates” and “X-RAY”
have their share in the tara.
What is
amusing, Mr President, ang mga dokumento at listahan ng mga tumatanggap ng
“Tara” ay naglalaman ng halos pare-parehong mga pangalan ng Customs officials
and offices involved, bagmen at opera- tors, maliban sa mga pangalan, (at
syempre naman) ng mismong nag- bahagi ng impormasyon sa amin.
Having
said that, it is almost an easy job to come up with a very credible “Tara”
list. So without much ado, allow me to proceed.
Mr.
President, I beg your indulgence as I have a lot of names to read from this
list.
Allow
me to start with the list of alleged bribe givers or “players” at the Bureau of
Customs:
1. Tina
Yu
2.
Jerry Yu
3.
Manny Santos
4.
David Tan
5. Jude
Logarta **
6. Eric
Yap
7.
Edvic Yap
8.
Ruben Taguba/Mark Taguba
9. Noel
Bonvalin
10.
John Paul Teves
11.
Gerry Teves
12.
Joel Teves
13. Jan
Jan Teves
14.
Ringo Teves
15.
George Tan
16.
Diogenes “Dennis” De Rama
17.
Henry Tan
18. Bim
Castillo
19.
George Wee
20.
Atty. Veneer Baquiran
21.
Johnny Sy
22.
Armando “Burog” Tolentino and Ruel Tolentino
23.
“Kimberly” Gamboa
24.
Bobot Sison
25.
Marty Pimentel of Cebu
26. a
certain “Eunice” of Davao
27. Jun
Diamante
28. Vic
Reyes
29.
Gerry Yap
30.
Arnold Saulong
31.
Hope Arnulfo Saulong
32. Boy
Sabater
33.
Nero Andal
34. Lea
Cruz
35.
Aying Acuzar / Eduardo Dio
36. Rey
Tubig
37.
Ruel Sy
38.
Frank Wong
39. Chi
Men
40. Jen
Yu
41.
Grace Bisaya
42.
Arthur Tan
43.
Charlie Tan of Davao Group *
44.
Anthony Ng
At this
point, here are the names of identified collectors/bagmen:
1.
Atty. Christopher Bolastig thru Russel and Estrella, and Atty Genefielle Lagmay
for the Office of the Commissioner (OCOMM)
2.
Nanie Koh for Import and Assessment Service (IAS); Also included is a certain
Lorna Rosario.
3. Joel
Pinawin, Ollie Valiente, and Teddy Sagaral for Customs Intelligence and
Investigation Service (CIIS)
4.
Atty. Larribert Hilario for the Risk Management Office (RMO) /Command Center
(COMMCEN) **
5. A
certain “Magic” or Major Salamanca for the Enforcement Group (EG)
6. Bien
Rubio, Jerry and Diego Santiago for the Intelligence Group (IG)
7.
Jasmin Obillos for Revenue Collection Monitoring Group (RCMG)
8. Sia
Otto and Roy for Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group
9. Bien
Rubio, again, for Intellectual Property Rights Division
10.
Atty. Tom Tagra for Legal Services
11. Boy
Garcia for Accounts Management Office (AMO)
12.
Certain Mamadra, Bobadilla and Mamao for Customs Collector in NAIA
13. A
certain “Hunk” for the Customs Collector in Subic
14.
Efren Ambagan and a certain Guiao for the Customs Collector in Clark
15.
Alfred and Daniel Wagwag for the District Collector, Port of Manila (POM)
16. Jun
Rapa for the Dep. Collector for Operations for POM
17.
Alex, Atty. Mimi Aldave and Atty. Vener Baquiran for the District
Collector, Manila International Container Port (MICP)
18.
Jayson Calinap for X Ray in MICP
19.
Agama and Junjun Reyes for X Ray at POM
20. For
the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) for Manila International Container
Port : Ordoña and Bundukin with a certain “Ante” as runner; and
21.
Lino Arroyo for the Enforcement and Security Service, Port of Manila
Meanwhile,
here’s a brief summary of the amounts being regularly distributed in the payola
system. Please note that these amounts are given per container. **
For
Bureau of Customs, Central Office, the following are the standard tara for each
office or division:
1.
P5,000 to 10,000 for Office of the Commissioner (OCOMM)
2.
P5,000 to P10,000 for Command Center (COMMCEN)
3.
P1,000 to P3,000 for the Assessment Operations Coordinating Group (AOCG)
4.
P1,500 to P3,000 for the Intelligence Group (IG)
5.
P3,000 to P10,000 for CIIS CENTRAL
6. P500
to P1,000 for CIIS Director’s Office
7.
P1,000 to P3,000 for the Intellectual Property Rights Division (IPRD)
8.
P1,000 to P2,000 for the Accounts Management Office (AMO)
9.
P1,000 to P3,000 for the Import and Assessment Service (IAS)
For
Manila International Container Port (MICP) and Port of Manila (POM):
1.
P9,000 to P15,000 for the Section Heads, Appraisers and Examiners in the Formal
Entry Division for both MICP and POM
2.
P1,000 to P3,000 for the Informal Entry Division for both MICP and POM
3.
P3,000 each for MICP and POM Collector’s Office
4. P500
to P1,000 for CIIS Port for both MICP and POM
5. P500
for Enforcement and Security Service for both MICP and POM
6. P500
to P1,000 for both MICP and POM
7. P200
for the Piers and Inspection Division for both MICP and POM
8.
P1,000 to P3,000 for the Deputy District Collector of POM
9.
P1,000 to P1,500 for XRAY **
Official
records from the Bureau of Customs disclose that, on the average, around 15,000
to 16,000 containers are transacted for release every week at the MICP and POM.
Of this, between 6,000 to 6,400 or approximately 40% of the total weekly
containers have tara.
Mr.
President, mayroon po tayong tinatawag na mga “Big Players”. Sila ang mga halos
naghahari o namamayagpag sa pagpapalabas ng mga kargamento sa Customs.
A total
of 390 to 490 containers per day or 1,950 to 2,450 containers weekly are being
facilitated by the so called “Big Players” broken down as follows: *
1.
100-110 containers - David Tan
2.
80-100 containers - Davao Group (Taguba belongs to this group)
3.
80-100 containers - Manny Santos
4.
80-100 containers - Teves Group
5.
50-80 containers - “Kimberly” Gamboa
Finally,
Mr. President, here are the recipients of tara/payola at the Bureau of Customs:
Commissioner
Nicanor Faeldon
Deputy
Commissioner Teddy Raval – Intelligence Group (IG)
Deputy
Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno -Enforcement Group (EG)
Deputy
Commissioner Gerardo Gambala of the Command Center
Deputy
Commissioner Natalio C. Ecarma III of Revenue Collection Monitoring Group
(RCMG)
Deputy
Commissioner Edward James Dy Buco of Assessment and Operations Coordination Group
(AOCG)
Director
Neil Estrella – Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service [CIIS] (alleged
to collect also for the Office of the Commissioner [OCOMM] together with Chris
Bolastig) **
Atty.
Zsae de Guzman – Chief, Intellectual Property Rights Division
Atty.
Larribert Hilario of Risk Management Office (RMO)
Joel
Pinawin, OIC Chief, Intelligence Division of the BOC (one of the alleged
collectors of Director Estrella)
Director
Milo Maestrecampo – Import and Assessment Service (IAS)
Atty.
Grace Malabed, Acting Chief of the Account Management Office (AMO)
Atty.
Alvin H. Ebreo, Director Legal Service under Revenue Collection Monitoring
Group (RCMG)
All
Section Heads, Appraisers and Examiners in the Formal Entry Division in both
the MICP and POM *
Athena
Dans of the Informal Entry Division MICP
All
Section Heads, Appraisers and Examiners in the Informal Entry Division in the
POM
MICP
& POM Sections 1, 9, 10, & 15 Chief Appraiser and Examiner
For the
District Collectors/Officers, the following names were mentioned:
1.
Collector Jet Maronilla of the MICP
2.
Collector Rhea Gregorio of POM
3.
Collector Edgar Z. Macabeo of NAIA
4.
Collector Elvira Cruz of Cebu
5.
Collector Maritess Martin of Clark
6.
Collector Mimel Talusan of Subic
7.
Collector Reynaldo M. Galeno of Batangas
8.
Deputy Collector Mel Pascual for POM
9. (+)
Capt. Tikoy Guttierez of Enforcement and Security Service (MICP) (deceased)
Mr.
President, an unimpeachable source provided me with information involving a
prominent Customs official listed above. For the period covering May 16 to June
28, 2017, Mr. Customs Official’s total encashment amounted to Five Million
One-Hundred Nine Thousand Pesos (P5,109,000), with the following breakdown: **
1. P1.5
million check deposit on May 16, 2017
2. P1.2
million check encashment on June 01, 2017
3. P699
thousand encashment on June 05, 2017
4. P1
million encashment on June 08, 2017
5. P910
thousand encashment on June 19, 2017
6. 1.3
million encashment on June 28, 2017.
The
“Tara” System, Mr. President, shows that there is a systemic corruption in the
Bureau. In fact, with almost every office and official receiving their share of
“Tara’, the Bureau can give the Mafia stiff competition.
Mr.
President, the Supreme Court in a ruling said, “we cannot afford to fail either
in combating the drug menace or in protecting the individual rights and
liberties we have enshrined in our Constitution. Either way, the consequences
of continued failure are hard to imagine.”
The
drug problem cannot be solved by focusing on the demand reduction effort alone.
Hindi
pa ba sapat ang isang taon at libu-libong napatay ng mga pulis at vigilantes
para makita at mapatunayan natin ito?
Since
my days in law enforcement, we have always embarked on a two-pronged strategy
in combating illegal drugs- demand or market constriction and supply reduction.
True,
hunting down big-time as well as small-time pushers and drug addicts in the
streets may suppress the drugs market.
But, if
our frontline government agency called the Bureau of Customs would allow,
consciously or otherwise the convenient smuggling of tons of shabu into our
country, it is impossible to win the battle against illegal drugs, simply
because the supply reduction side of the anti-drugs strategy is failing
miserably. **
Parang
gripo, patuloy ang daloy ng illegal drugs sa bayan, tone-toneladang ilegal na
droga.
This
runs counter to the policy adopted by the State as enunciated in Section 101 of
Republic Act 10863 otherwise known as the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act,
to wit:
“[i]t
is the policy of the State to protect and enhance government revenues,
institute fair and transparent customs and tariff management that will
efficiently facilitate international trade, prevent and curtail any form
of customs fraud and illegal acts, and modernize customs and tariff
administration.”
This
Policy is in recognition of the important role that the Bureau of Customs plays
in being the country’s first line of defense against the threats that arise
from international trade. The problems that our country is facing now, such as
smuggling, fraud and drug trafficking can effectively be lessened if we only
fortify our first line of defense on border management. Thus, it is incumbent
upon us to address this BOC issue head on and at its core.
There is
a saying that every time we need to solve problems, we should dig at the roots
instead of just hacking at the leaves.
If we
intend to remain committed to the War on Drugs, we need a War on Corruption.
Mr.
President, I have known the newly-appointed Customs Chief, General Sid Lapeña,
as an honorable man. In fact, I can personally vouch for his integrity. With
his appointment as the new Customs chief, I can only hope na hindi siya
kakainin ng sistema tulad ng nauna sa kanya.
His
highest calling at the moment is to descend to the gates of hell and
destroy the brazen corruption within the country’s most corrupt government
agency. **
General
Lapeña needs to institutionalize genuine reforms, and by genuine reforms, that
would mean the abolition of the corruption system from top officials down to
the last rank-and-file in Customs.
Mr.
President, I believe nothing will happen if we do not address the moral
bankruptcy that is intrinsic among the officials and members of the Bureau of
Customs.
We
should not turn our heads too far from a deeper issue that holds back the
progress of our nation. Henceforth, it is also high time to send off an
all-out, sustained war against corruption.
And the
battle starts at the Bureau of Customs.
I
firmly believe, then and now, that it is the only way we can build a better,
more progressive future for this country.
Thank
you, Mr. President.
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