MANILA, Philippines – Want a shipment to pass smoothly through the Bureau of Customs (BOC)? According to a Customs broker testifying before the House of Representatives on Monday, August 7, be ready with at least P27,200.

Mark Taguba, a Customs broker being linked to the smuggling of billions worth of shabu from China, told the committee on dangerous drugs that on top of around P40,000 in taxes, enterprising brokers who want shipments to pass through without a hitch would shell out between P27,200 to P34,000 in “tara” or grease money to various departments and officers in the bureau.

The same breakdown was apparently presented to the Senate but in an executive session. Kabayan Representative Harry Roque urged Taguba to expose what he knew, citing his newly-granted legislative immunity.  

Testifying before the committee, Taguba broke down the cost of “tara,” taxes, and “legal” payments as:

“Legal”

• 10,000 – cntr deposit 
• 11,300 – arrastre 
• 60,000 – shopping

“GS”

• 3,000 – IG

“Tara”

• 3,000 – Collector 
• 500 – CIIS (Comprehensive Import Supervision Scheme) Director 
• 500 – CIIS District Director 
• 500 – ESS (Enforcement and Security Service) Director 
• 500 – ESS District Director 
• 10,000 – IAS (Imports and Assessment Service) 
• 1,000 – X-ray 
• 200 – PID (Pier Inspection Division) 
• 500 – FED (Formal Entry Division) 
• 1,000 – AOCG (Assessment and Operations Coordinating Group) 
• 7,500 – SEC

“Benchmark”

• 40,000 – tax

Taguba had earlier been granted legislative immunity from suit as a result of his testimony in a hearing that hits two of President Rodrigo Duterte’s key campaign promises – eradicating illegal drugs and corruption.

“This goes to show that our collections in the Bureau of Customs should double if done properly. This discovery and admission only goes to show that we do not really know how much we should really be earning by way of customs tariffs and duties. If only the correct tariffs and duties are imposed and collected, then we would not have any budget deficit,” said Roque. 

The bureau has long been plagued by allegations of corruption. 

The House of Representatives’ committees on dangerous drugs and ways and means are probing how more than P6 billion worth of shabu was able to slip past the bureau. It was later seized in a raid – also by the BOC – at a Valenzuela warehouse.

Upon questioning by Cebu Representative Gwendolyn Garcia, Taguba explained that more often than not, a person would simply text him the details of their meeting place for the pay-off. Although he pinpointed the heads of the offices he allegedly gave bribes to, Taguba later said he did not give the money directly to the Customs officials.

Over P10,000 went to IAS, for example, because a certain “Tita Nani” would give him tariff codes to avoid an alert.

Taguba said the “tara” guarantees that shipments won’t go through inspections and that the required documents would be processed right away, shortening the time between the arrival and release of the shipment.

He has been offered protection by the Senate. The House wants to do the same.

The Customs officials whom Taguba pinpointed denied his allegations. – Rappler.com