Taguba says he received death threats after implicating 'Pulong' Duterte in drug smuggling

MANILA, Philippines — Alleged Customs “fixer” Mark Taguba said that he and his family were harassed with death threats after implicating Rep. Paulo “Pulong” Duterte (Davao, 1st District) in the P6.4 billion drug smuggling case he was involved in back in 2017.

During the House Quad Committee's 12th hearing on Wednesday, November 27, Taguba recounted his experiences after conspiracy charges were filed against him and his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that investigated the case in 2017.

In the Senate probe, Taguba presented text messages exchanged with members of a “Davao Group,” mentioning the names “Pulong” and “Paolo,” alluding to the former Davao City vice mayor.  

Taguba also implicated Vice President Sara Duterte’s husband, Manases “Mans” Carpio before, noting that his name appeared as “Mance” in the text messages.

He said in his affidavit that, as a former member of the Davao group, he received help clearing shipments in exchange for money. 

However, Taguba quickly shifted his stance in the Senate probe in September 2017, apologizing to Duterte and Carpio and absolving them of involvement in the smuggled crystal meth.

Seven years later, during the Quad Comm’s investigation into the illegal drug trade, he said he was “harassed” after mentioning their names. 

Reaffirming his original testimony

Taguba said that at the time, he was only around 26 to 27 years old and unsure of how to deal with the situation, so he simply recounted his personal experience with the Davao Group, where Duterte and Carpio were mentioned.

“Bata pa nga po ako, hindi ko alam ‘yung pag-handle ng situation na ‘yun so binanggit ko siya (Duterte and Carpio). Lahat ng pang-ha-harass ginawa nila sa akin,” he said while crying. 

(I was still young then, I didn’t know how to handle that situation, so I mentioned them. They did everything to harass me.)

Taguba shared that when he arranged a press conference through his legal counsel, Raymund Fortun, to apologize to Duterte and Carpio, the public believed his recantation.

“Hindi nila alam yung totoong nangyari na pang-ha-harass namin. Kahit nanay ko balak nilang patayin,” he added. 

(They didn’t know the truth about the harassment we experienced. They even had threats to kill my mother.)

After publicly clearing their names, Taguba said former Sen. Panfilo Lacson asked him to visit his office. Lacson questioned his recantation, to which Taguba explained it was due to the death threats he had been receiving.

Taguba’s encounter with Davao Group

Taguba did not deny his involvement in the alleged corruption within the Bureau of Customs but maintained his innocence regarding being a “drug lord” in connection with the seized dangerous drugs he processed.

“Kung meron man akong kasalanan, yun po yung sa ‘tara’ system. Totoo naman po lahat yun. … Pero ‘yung (pag-iimport) ng shabu? Hindi ko po ginawa ‘yan,” he told lawmakers. 

(If I have any wrongdoing, it’s with the 'tara' system. All of that is true. … But importing crystal meth? I didn’t do that.)

According to Taguba, the "tara" system involves paying off offices within the BOC for each container shipment released. He told the Quad Comm that he “released” around 100 containers a day and paid BOC offices P170,000 for each container, but this amount also varied. 

It was only when he started receiving more "alerts" in his job as a "tracker," responsible for conducting physical and documentary inspections of containers, that he sought the group's assistance, indicating challenges in the shipment.

Taguba said he was introduced to the group by “Jojo Bacud,” who claimed to be from the BOC's Special Studies and Project Development Committee.

Later, he was instructed to pay a P5 million “tuition fee” to Davao City Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera, join the Davao Group and access their "services." He also mentioned that he was required to make weekly payments.  

“Binigay ko ‘yung pera kay ‘Small.’ ‘Yun ang sinabi nila sa akin, ibigay ang P5 million … [Ito ay] para mapasok daw ako sa Davao Group kasi kung hindi ka kasama sa kanila, i-aalert nila ang mga containers mo,” he explained.

(I gave the money to 'Small.' That’s what they told me, to give the P5 million… [It’s] to get me into the Davao Group, because if you're not with them, they’ll alert your containers.)

While with the Davao group, Taguba processed a shipment without thoroughly inspecting it, which was later found to contain 600 kilos of crystal meth in a Valenzuela City warehouse.

He said he learned about Duterte’s involvement in addressing shipment and customs alert issues through other group members, including “Tita Nanie,” who claimed that a person named “Jack” served as Duterte’s handler. 

The payments he made were allegedly brought to the former Davao City vice mayor, he said.   

“Ang nagmemention naman ‘yan, sila Tita Nanie, sila Jack [na] si Pulong Duterte ang mag-aayos kapag nagbigay ako ng pera,” he told lawmakers. 

(The ones mentioning them are Tita Nanie and Jack, saying that Pulong Duterte would handle it if I gave money.)

Abellera, present at the mega panel’s hearing, confirmed meeting with Taguba. However, he said that there was no reason for him to accept the payment because Taguba was already “turned down.”      

The Bureau of Corrections, where Taguba is being held, approved the Quad Comm's request to transfer him to the House detention facility on Friday, November 29.

He, along with two others, was convicted by a Manila court on November 19 for the importation of P6.4 billion worth of crystal meth. They were sentenced to imprisonment and fined P500,000.