Ex-Customs ‘fixer’ Taguba: I paid P5M to join 'Davao Group'

Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) “fixer” Mark Taguba told the House Quad Committee he spent P5 million to enlist himself in the “Davao Group” amid harassment from BOC officials.

Taguba made the testimony during the House Quad Committee (QuadComm) probe of the war on drugs waged by the administration of former president Rodrigo Duterte. He said that  a certain Jojo Bacud introduced him to the Davao Group composed of Tita Nani, Davao City councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera, Jr., a certain Jack and Noel.

The former "fixer" said the Davao Group asked him to hand over the P5 million enlistment fee to Davao city Rep. Paolo Duterte, a son of then president Rodrigo Duterte, but Taguba said he never met the younger Duterte and instead handed over the money to Abellera, said to be a close friend to the congressman.

“Mabilis lang naman yung meeting namin. Pinakilala lang niya (si Bacud) sa akin ‘yung mga taong yun, ‘yung Davao Group. Tapos, sinabi nila sa akin na hindi ka na makapag transcact sa Bureau of Customs kung hindi ka sasama sa amin. At kailangan may ‘enrollment fee’ na P5 million. Pinapapunta nila ako sa Davao nun, para daw i-meet si Paolo Duterte. At may text po ako niyan eh,” Taguba told the committee.

(Our meeting was quick. I was introduced to Bacaud and the Davao Group told me that I cannot do transactions with the Bureau of Customs if I don't join them. And that I needed to pay the enrollment fee of P5 million. I was told to come to Davao and meet Paolo Duterte and I have a text message for that.)

“Pero never ko po na-meet [si Paolo Duterte]. Doon ko po binigay kay Small [iyong P5 million],” Taguba added.

(But I never met him. I gave the money to Small.)

QuadComm lead chairperson and Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers said Councilor Abellera, Jr., the man known as "Small", will be invited during the next QuadComm probe.

Taguba said that prior to his enlistment to the Davao Group, his shipments were being held by Customs officials. A colleague later advised him to join the Davao group for a fee in order to address his problems of the shipments being held without basis.

He said that if a shipment costs P3,000 with proof of its actual worth, Customs officials could insist it is worth P5,000 just based on a Google search and hold the shipment unless they are paid grease money.

“May karapatan silang i-hold yun. Ikaw naman, dahil negosyante ka, iho-hold yung container. Kesa anuhin mo yung kanilang napakahabang proseso, magbibigay ka na lang para makalabas yung container mo at makapag-negosyo ka. Kaya nasabi ko po yan na tingin ko po lahat ng shipment dumadaan po talaga sa 'tara system', one way or the other,” 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 transactions in Customs involve grease money.)

“Those who hold the shipment unfairly were from the Customs Command Center. Iyong mga pang-haharass, kaya nilang gawin ‘yun. Ngayon, meron akong kakilala, si Jojo Bacud po. Nirefer niya ako dito sa Tita Nani. Tapos po, ayun po, nag-meet po kami, sina Jojo Bacud, si Tita Nani, si Noel, tsaka si Jack. In-explain nila na sila ang pinaka-powerful doon at kung hindi ka papasok sa grupo nila [na Davao Group], hindi ka makapag-transact sa Bureau of Customs. Wala pong player o sino man ang gusto magparating [ng shipment rito] na hindi dumadaan sa kanila. Kasi nga, pag hindi ka nagbigay sa kanila, ma-haharass nila, ma-hohold nila yung mga container mo,” Taguba added.

(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, who was recently convicted on multiple charges in connection with the 2017 smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs from China, lamented the fact that there were no Customs officials or people from the Davao Group who were charged and convicted.

“Hanggang ngayon, nagtataka ako bakit hindi sila kasama dito sa kaso namin,” said Taguba, who has been slapped two life sentences due to the drug smuggling conviction.

(Up until now, I wonder why they were not charged in our case.)

Taguba has repeatedly denied being a drug smuggler, saying that he did not know that the shipment included billions of pesos worth of narcotics hidden inside metal cylinders.

He added that based on the packing list that was shown to him did not include the metal cylinders.

As good as it gets until it wasn’t

Prior to being charged with smuggling illegal drugs, Taguba said his enlistment in the Davao group was a worthy investment since it solved his problem of containers being held without basis.

“Ang all-in ko po kasi [na TARA sa Customs officials at Davao Group], P170,000 po [per container]. Kasama rin po kasi doon yung duties and taxes at shipping line. Umaabot po ako ng 100 [containers na naipapasok] kada isang linggo,” said Taguba, who identifies as someone engaged in a trucking business.

(The all-in grease money was P170,000 per container, and I was able to facilitate entry of up to 100 containers in a week.)

“Mga general merchandise po [ang laman ng containers].  General merchandise are smuggled. Ang pinaka-pruweba lang po na maibibigay ko sa inyo is sa lahat ng transactions ko is nag-green [express] lane siya. Lahat po ng dokyumento ko, pagka kinumpara niyo, pare-parehas. Puro P40,000 ‘yung tax niya. So kahit sino pagka nakita yun, i-hold nila yun. Kasi bakit pare-parehas?,”Taguba said.

(One proof I can give is that all my transactions were sent to the green lane, and even if they all have identical tax amounts of P40,000, they were all good to go. These should have been flagged for that reason alone.)

In closing, Taguba said such elaborate schemes won’t be executed like clockwork without the go ahead of the bosses.

“’Yun lang po ang mabibigay kong pruweba sa inyo. Kung totoo ba si Tita Nani, ‘yung Davao Group. Dahil tingin ko, kung walang basbas sa taas, hindi mangyayari ‘yun. Hindi makalabas ‘yung ganun karaming containers ng ganun kabilis,” Taguba added.

(That is the only proof I can give you if you are asking me if Tita Nani,the  Davao Group really exist. The way I see it, without the blessing from above, nothing will happen. You cannot facilitate the entry of that many containers that fast.)
—RF, GMA Integrated News