Customs official to expose anomalies at Port of Davao

DAVAO CITY, Philippines  – A ranking Bureau of Customs (BOC) official is set to expose alleged corruption in the agency, specifically in the Port of Davao, an anti-corruption watchdog said yesterday.

In a press conference at the Ateneo de Davao University’s Jacinto campus, Mussolini Lidasan, convenor of the People’s Action Against Corruption (PAAC), said they are now coordinating with the Customs official who agreed to turn state witness once the Senate conducts its inquiry into alleged Customs anomalies in this city.

The Customs official reportedly decided to testify after learning that he would be made a sacrificial lamb by higher BOC officials following the discovery of 40 vans that contained smuggled rice but declared as construction materials.

The discovery was made by businessman Rodolfo Reta who owns and operates the Acquarius Container Yard (ACY), which the BOC is using as its designated examination area (DEA) under a 25-year Container Yard Outside Customs Zone agreement.

The Customs official, according to reports, is now on floating status and is poised to file a case against Port of Davao Customs Collector Anju Nereo Castigador.

In the press conference dubbed as “Customized corruption,” Oliver Autor of the Centrist Democratic Movement said their coalition is not concerned about the personalities involved but on the corrupt system not just in the BOC but in all other government agencies as well.

“Rodolfo Reta is just a case. He is just one person who is so bold enough to come out in the open and talk about corruption,” Autor said.

Benjie Lizada of the People Power Volunteers Reform said the DEA operation at the ACY was an experiment of Customs officials in Manila to rid the agency of corruption.

He said Reta’s contract with the BOC mandates him to report any anomalies in the DEA operation, as stipulated in Customs Administrative Order 594, or his contract would be cancelled.

When Reta complied with the agreement and reported the misdeclaration of the smuggled rice, Lizada said the BOC abruptly closed the DEA instead of lauding Reta for his compliance with CAO 594.

“They started an experiment but after nine months of operation they had to stop it because the check and balance (became very efficient),” Lizada said.

Lizada said all the PAAC wanted is for the DEA at the private container yard to continue to maintain check and balance in Customs operations.

He said the private partnership on the DEA operation was doing so well that the Port of Davao surpassed its collection targets in 2009 and 2010.

Professor Adrian Tamayo, a PACC member, said had the operation of the DEA not been halted on Feb. 26, 2010 BOC collection last year would have been much bigger since there would no longer be misdeclaration of goods.

“It will dismantle the layer of corruption, thus transparency will prevail. And there will be accountability,” Tamayo said.

“We are not after any heads here, the last thing we want is another Angie Reyes to happen. Just allow the experiment to continue but this time have a non-government organization be involved to monitor and observe the DEA operation,” Lizada said.

“We are focused on correcting the system. I am sure that Castigador and other officials are also just caught in a very dishonest system,” he added.