黑料社

MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) intelligence officer Jimmy Guban has accused a so-called Davao group of being behind the smuggling of various items 鈥� including agricultural products 鈥� in its heyday during the past administration.

During the thirteenth hearing of the House of Representatives鈥� quad committee on Thursday, Guban was asked by Lanao del Sur 1st District Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong if former Customs broker Mark Taguba鈥檚 remarks about the Davao group were true 鈥� that while it was not part of BOC, it had a strong influence in Customs deals.

In response, Guban said that a huge part of the tara 鈥� a grease money system that Taguba admitted to have existed 鈥� goes to the Davao group.

鈥淭hat is correct, your Honor, from the start of 2016.聽 In fact, even 鈥榶ong positioning sa Bureau nanggagaling sa Davao group.聽 Kaya si Mark ay nag-eenroll sa Davao group para mabilis ang facilitation ng kargamento nila.聽 So 鈥榶ong P40,000 na sinasabi niyo, 鈥榶on 鈥榶ong may resibo lang na pumapasok sa Customs.聽 Maybe P10,000 or P15,000 sa shipping line.聽 And the rest of that, do鈥檔 na 鈥榶on sa grupo ng Davao group,鈥� Guban said.

(That is correct, your Honor, from the start of 2016.聽 In fact, even the positioning in the Bureau came from Davao group.聽 That鈥檚 why Mark enrolled payments to the Davao group so that their cargo would be quickly facilitated.聽 So the P40,000 that you are saying, that鈥檚 that only transaction with receipts, that came into Customs.聽 Maybe P10,000 or P15,000 to the shipping line.聽 And the rest of that is for the Davao group.)

鈥淪o regardless na po 鈥榶on kung anong klase ng kargamento ang papasok [we accept it] which is kaya nag-proliferate ang illegal drugs, pati na ho agricultural products ang dami po no鈥檔 kasi hindi kontrolado ng Customs officials ang Bureau of Customs.聽 It鈥檚 the Davao group that was controlling during that time,鈥� he added.

(So regardless of what kind of cargo was coming in, we accepted it, which was why illegal drugs proliferated, and even agricultural products were smuggled because Customs officials did not control BOC.聽 It was the Davao group controlling during that time.)

Quad committee lead presiding officer and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Rep. Robert Ace Barbers noticed that Customs Police official Maj. Camilo Cascolan Jr. agreed with what Guban was saying.

鈥淚 saw Major Cascolan nodding his head eh, does that mean that you are confirming what Jimmy Guban is saying?聽 So you are aware about this kind of system?鈥� Barbers asked.

鈥淵es, your Honor, it has been the system, your Honor,鈥� Cascolan replied.

Later on, La Union 1st District Rep. Paolo Ortega asked Guban and Taguba about the Davao group, to which the former BOC official said the organization was a hot commodity 鈥渇rom the start of the oath-taking to Malaca帽ang,鈥� referring to former President Rodrigo Duterte鈥檚 term.

Taguba meanwhile implicated Duterte鈥檚 son, Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, as head of the Davao group.

鈥淲ho do you think is the head or leader of this Davao group?鈥� Ortega asked.

鈥淲ell, I think it鈥檚 Paolo Duterte,鈥� Taguba said.

鈥淚s that common knowledge in your workplace before?聽 Was this talked about normally, like it鈥檚 being passed around, it鈥檚 not uncertain, and you cannot say that you are not sure?鈥� Ortega pressed.

鈥淵es po, your Honor,鈥� Taguba replied.

黑料社 has contacted Rep. Duterte鈥檚 office for his comment on the issue, but his staffer said that the lawmaker would not issue a statement since they do not know each other.

This is not the first time that Taguba and Guban implicated the younger Duterte as supposedly involved in smuggling.

At the first quad committee hearing in Pampanga last August 16, Guban said he was cautioned against naming Rep. Duterte, his brother-in-law and Vice President Sara Duterte鈥檚 husband Manases Carpio, and businessman Michael Yang as involved in the 鈥渟habu鈥� importation mess.

Rep. Duterte however questioned Guban鈥檚 credibility, saying that he does not know Guban and that he has never transacted with the former BOC official.聽 The lawmaker also noted that the label 鈥渟tar witness鈥� is only reserved for individuals with credibility and not Guban, who had been cited for contempt by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Taguba meanwhile claimed during a previous quad committee hearing that he never retracted his allegations that Rep. Duterte was involved in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment smuggled through the BOC in 2017.

Previously, Taguba apologized to Rep. Duterte 鈥� who was then Davao City vice mayor 鈥� and Carpio for the 鈥渇ake news鈥� circulating that they were involved in the shabu shipment.