THE House Quad Committee, led by committee on dangerous drugs chairperson and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Barbers, reconvened on Tuesday for its 14th public hearing, delving into Customs processes to identify loopholes and determine how illegal consignments enter the country.
Lawmakers revisited the 2017 smuggling of P6.4 billion illegal drugs found in magnetic lifters at the Manila International Container Port.
Batangas Rep. Gerville Luistro zeroed in on the alleged “Tara” system or grease money that persists within the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
“The alleged ‘Tara’ system, which allows shipments to bypass both document and physical examinations, enables the proliferation of misdeclaration and non-declaration,” Luistro said during the hearing.
She linked the Tara system to government revenue losses and violations of Philippine laws, and degradation of national security.
“I hope we appreciate the possibility na baka hindi lang po income ng gobyerno ang nawawala. Baka hindi lamang po batas ang naba-violate. Mr. Chair, I lament that with that existing system as alleged by our resource persons, we are compromising already even the national security of our country,” Luistro also stated in her manifestation.
Committee on human rights chairperson and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr. questioned former BOC Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon about his efforts to address the issue and the manipulation of the entry of goods during his tenure.
Faeldon admitted to the quad committee that the “Tara” system exists in the BOC, described it as illegal, and stated that he delisted 4,000 importers and brokers to curb the practice.
“In my small time there, a little over one year, in my first week of stint, I requested all the importers and brokers and appealed to them, because I agree with your honors that this has existed since time immemorial, and we’ve been losing maybe trillions already because walang nagbabayad,” he said.
Another former Customs chief, Isidro Lapeña, also cited the slow processing of importation documents, which he said drives importers to pay the Tara system.
“In fact, it is because of this slow processing of the papers that the importers go to these people who process their fake documents, and when it is delayed, there is a penalty which is called demurrage — which is P10,000 per day,” he stated.
Both Lapeña and Faeldon backed full automation to curb corruption in the BOC, but admitted that not all employees favor digitalization.
Abante urged the panel to draft a measure pushing for the digitalization of government agencies linked to corruption.
“Mr. Chair, perhaps one of the bills that the Quad Comm could be able to look into is the bill to actually digitalize agencies in government that are very much involved especially on the issue of corruption,” Abante said.
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