Brokers seek end to P3.9-billion BOC extortion case

MANILA, Philippines - A group of customs brokers asked the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday to resolve as soon as possible a P3.9-billion extortion case against four lawyers of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in September last year.

In a motion, the Professional Customs Brokers Association of the Philippines, Inc. (PCBAPI) said the supposed delay in resolving the case has already resulted in the promotion of one of the respondents, lawyer Rogel Gatchalian, as district collector of the Port of Manila.

“The respondents are high government officials” and under Republic Act 6770, which created the Office of the Ombudsman, the office should prioritize complaints filed against them, PCBAPI president Agapito Mendez said in the motion, a copy of which was obtained by The STAR.

The other three respondents in the case are lawyers Michael Vito Cruz, Grace Malabed, and Erwin Mendoza. Also implicated in the extortion complaint were three persons identified only as “Sherwin”, “Boy Garcia”, and “Terry.”

Mendez appealed to Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas Gutierrez to immediately resolve their complaint in the “higher interest of substantial justice, fair play and equity.”

On July 2, 2008, the Department of Finance – through DOF Undersecretary Estela Sales of the Legal and Revenue Operations Group, upon endorsement by BOC Commissioner Napoleon Morales – asked the Ombudsman to investigate the respondents, all from the BOC’s Legal Service, for extortion and for unlawful collection of “inspection fees” amounting to P3.9 billion in 2008 alone.

The BOC lawyers were accused of individually or collectively extorted P3,500 to P10,000 from customs brokers and importers as “inspection fee” in exchange for approving accreditation papers without any “hassle.” The money, the borkers said, was collected personally by Sherwin and Boy Garcia, who did not issue receipts.

There have been “isolated cases” in which the respondents asked “for a bigger amount, which I have personally experienced with Cruz and Gatchalian,” Mendez said.

He also estimated that the respondents could have collected a minimum of P3.9 billion for 2008 alone as accreditation entries for the Port of Manila alone amounted to 1,000 applications every day.

He also accused the four lawyers of being behind a syndicate forcing importers to shell out P5,000 per shipping container to expedite its release from the BOC impounding yard.

In an Oct. 16 letter, President Arroyo was asked by six top BOC officials to recall Gatchalian’s promotion as chief collector of the Port of Manila, which has a revenue collection target of P60 billion, not only due to his lack of civil service qualifications, but also because he has a string of pending graft charges, including the P3.9-billion extortion case.

The six BOC officials are the Port of Manila’s Arnel Alcaraz and Sonia Togonon; Manila International Container Port’s Remedios Espinosa; Ma. Lourdes Mangaoang, head of the X-ray Inspection Project; Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s Teresita Roque; Port of Batangas’ Juan Tan.

They also appealed to Career Executive Service Board (CESB) chairman Bernardo Abesamis to nullify Gatchalian’s promotion.

“His (Gatchalian’s) only qualification is only being a licensed engineer and a bar passer,” they said, noting that his tenure at the BOC has not reached the minimum three years, and he is not a “career executive service officer” or CESO.

The Customs officials also told the President that Gatchalian does not deserve to be promoted because he has no experience in assessment and customs operations.

Besides, according to them, Gatchalian’s string of graft cases pending before the Office of the Ombudsman should have prevented him from being promoted. A check with Ombudsman showed that Gatchalian is being investigated for eight graft cases, including the P3.9-billion extortion case.