Tag: customs

DOJ’s Guevarra confirms ex-Customs intel officer Guban now under WPP

  (Eagle News) — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has confirmed that former customs intelligence officer was indeed admitted to the Department of Justice’s Witness Protection Program (WPP). “Yes, Mr. Guban has been admitted into the WPP. But that’s all that I can say,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon. Guevarra refused to give more details citing the “confidential” nature of the WPP. Thank you for understanding the confidential nature and purpose of the WPP. Really […]

DOJ: President Duterte’s act of putting Customs bureau under “watchful eye” of AFP, only temporary

  (Eagle News) – Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said that the action of President Rodrigo Duterte to put the Bureau of Customs “under the watchful eye” of the military was just “temporary,” and that civilian rule in the controversial agency should still be supreme at all times. In a message to reporters, Guevarra said that the “President, as Chief Executive, has the power of supervision and control over the entire Executive Dept, and is duty-bound […]

Duterte removes Lapeña from Customs, moves him to TESDA; also fires all Customs commissioners, dep’t heads

  (Eagle News) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Thursday, Oct. 25, removed Isidro Lapeña as Bureau of Customs commissioner, replacing him with Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA) administrator Rey Leonardo Guerrero. He also ordered the new Bureau of Customs chief, Guerrero, to remove from their key positions all commissioners and department heads of the bureau. He said that these personnel should be placed on “floating status” and that it does not matter that if this will […]

Lapeña backtracks, now says magnetic lifters found in Cavite, may have contained illegal drugs

(Eagle News) – Bureau of Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña has backtracked on his earlier statement on there was no shabu inside four magnetic lifters found in Cavite, and now admits that these may have indeed contained shabu. This was after hearing various testimonies at the House of Representatives, including that of a Department of Public Works and Highways official on Wednesday, Oct. 24. “With the continuing investigation and yung mga lumalabas na mga circumstantial evidences, […]

Duterte orders PNP to arrest Customs intel agent Guban, links him to entry of shabu shipment

  (Eagle News) –President Rodrigo Duterte ordered the arrest of a customs intelligence officer supposedly linked to the P6.8 billion shabu shipment that had recently allegedly slipped past the Bureau of Customs. The President gave the directive for the Philippine National Police to arrest Customs intelligence officer Jimmy Guban amid an inquiry done by the House of Representatives to look into the alleged smuggling of the P6.8 billion of shabu that recently got past the […]

BoC seizes shipments containing P11.87 million worth of shabu at NAIA

(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Customs on Tuesday, May 22, seized two shipments of shabu worth P11.87 million in separate instances in the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapeña said both packages came from California in the United States, and had fake consignees and delivery addresses. The first package, he said, was seized on April 23, and was sent by one Audio Schit. He said it contained 344.50 grams of suspected shabu and […]

Ombudsman recommends filing of criminal, administrative charges vs Faeldon for shabu mess

  (Eagle News) — The Office of the Ombudsman has recommended the filing of graft and usurpation of official functions, aside from other criminal and administrative charges, against former Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon in connection with the P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment that had passed through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) during his watch. The Ombudsman has already completed the fact-finding investigation on the complaint involving the 602.2 kilograms of high-grade methamphetamine hydrochloride or […]

Taguba pleads not guilty to drug raps filed vs him in connection with P6.4-B shabu shipment mess

Co-accused Eirene Mae Tatad does not enter plea (Eagle News) — Customs fixer Mark Ruben Taguba II on Friday, April 27, pleaded not guilty to the illegal drug charges filed against him in connection with the P6.4-billion shabu mess. His co-accused, Eirene Mae Tatad, owner of EMT Trading, the consignee of the shabu shipment refused to enter a plea before Branch 46 of the Manila Regional Trial Court. This prompted Judge Rainelda Estacio-Montesa to enter […]

Bureau of Customs: P8.98 million worth of misdeclared goods seized at Port of Manila

(Eagle News) — The Bureau of Customs has intercepted P8.98 million worth of misdeclared goods from the Port of Manila. In a statement on Monday, the BoC said the two-footer vans were intercepted upon their arrival in February and December last year. The shipment that contained cigarettes arrived on February 21. Its importer had declared it contained brackets instead. The other shipment that contained fireworks, the BoC said, arrived on December 31, 2017. Its importer […]

Taguba camp says a gov’t official wants him dead; asks court to reconsider its decision on his detention in Manila City Jail

(Eagle News) — Citing threats to his life, Mark Taguba, one of the personalities charged in connection with the P6.4-billion shabu shipment mess, on Monday asked the court to reconsider its decision to have him detained at the Manila City Jail. In a very urgent motion for reconsideration filed before Branch 46 of the Manila Regional Trial Court, Taguba, through his lawyer, asked that he be  given detention in the National Bureau of Investigation detention […]

Mark Taguba: “I am innocent”

By Jerold Tagbo Eagle News Service One of the personalities charged in connection with the P6.4-billion shabu shipment mess maintained his innocence on Thursday, a day after he was arrested by authorities. “Inosente tayo. Wala tayong dapat ikatakot. Alam kong mananalo kami,” Mark Taguba told the media at the National Bureau of Investigation headquarters where he has been detained since his arrest on Wednesday night. He said his defense was airtight, but refused to detail what […]

Faeldon transferred to Pasay City Jail

(Eagle News)– Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon was transferred to the Pasay City Jail on Tuesday, after trading barbs with Senate blue ribbon committee chair Richard Gordon in a panel hearing on corruption in the Bureau of Customs and on the shabu shipment mess in May. Faeldon  was seen wearing a black shirt saying “Truth is Justice” when he arrived at the jail around noon. He was escorted by the Senate sergeant at arms. The […]