Customs staff admits boss receiving payoff from fixer in Senate probe

SENATOR Panfilo Lacson presented a contractual employee of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) who could corroborate customs “fixer” Mark Taguba’s claims about the existence of “tara” (payoff) system at the bureau.

At the resumption of the Senate blue ribbon committee inquiry into the alleged corruption at the BOC on Wednesday, May Escoto, a staff of Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service (CIIS) Division chief Joel Pinawin, told the committee that she personally handed envelops, believed to be containing money, to Pinawin.