'Special stop orders' under Faeldon used for 'doble tara' – Lacson

MANILA, Philippines – Senator Panfilo Lacson questioned the issuance of “special stop orders” during the stint of former Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and called the scheme “doble tara.”

Lacson said the Office of the Commissioner would issue special stop orders on shipments even if they already paid the usual “tara” or bribe money. Lacson said the scheme is among the “mysteries” under Faeldon’s administration.

“'Yun yung tinatawag ko na doble tara ng doble kara. Nag-tara na, napunta sa green lane, pinrocess na. Tatarahan pa ulit sa pamamagitan ng special stop orders,” Lacson said on Monday, September 25, during the Senate blue ribbon hearing.

(That's what I called doble tara. You already paid tara, went to the green lane, and was already processed but you will be imposed new tara through special stop orders.)

Liza Sebastian, collector at the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, said only the Office of the Commissioner, upon recommendation of alerting units, could issue such orders.

These orders are meant to “prevent the release of shipments even after taxes have been paid," said Sebastian.

During the hearing, Lacson revealed that a certain Mike Sabban recommended the issuance of special stop orders to Integrisy Trading, one of the companies used by Customs broker and "fixer" Mark Taguba. Sabban is a “technical consultant” in Faeldon’s office.

In previous hearings, Taguba said Sabban placed his shipments on alert after having a feud with his father, Ruben.

Taguba said the incident prompted him to look for other backers, leading to her transactions with the so-called “Tita Nanie,” a member of the so-called Davao Group.

Presidential son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte is allegedly part of the group.

During the hearing, Taguba presented text messages to prove that tara exists in the agency.

In one message sent by Tita Nanie, it was shown that the Office of the Commissioner asked for an additional P50,000 for the "problem."