Purge continues at BOC; former whistleblower sacked

Aformer whistleblower of alleged send-off money, or “pabaon,” given to retiring Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials was among 16 consultants and contractual employees who were dismissed by the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa, who testified before a Senate investigation in 2011 about millions of pesos given to at least three retired AFP chiefs of staff and other top military officials, was among the consultants whose contracts with the Intelligence Group (IG) of the BOC was no longer renewed because of “lack of trust and confidence.”

Former Arroyo administration Secretary Angelo Reyes, an ex-AFP Chief of Staff, who Rabusa identified as one of the recipients of the “pabaon” shot and killed himself at the height of the scandal.

In a report, a copy which was obtained by the Bulletin from a BOC source, the other former BOC employees were either sacked or forced to resign because of the “loss of trust and confidence” in them by Deputy Commissioner for Intelligence Group Jessie Dellosa.

The others ordered relieved were Maj. Jason Aquino, Genesis Colot, Jarvis Cinchez, Santiago Gile, Rory Dela Torre, Jones Rose, Paolo Nicolas and Rey Dumelod, Cesar Sabino, Gemma Montecalvo, Gerard Uy, Jake De Vera, Colonel Jun Pacatan, Ma. Cecila Pacis, and Ronald Sanchez, also known in BOC circles as Abu.

Colot is reportedly a former driver of Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin while Gile and Sanchez reportedly have pending complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Dellosa had shown the door to the 16 personnel after they were found colluding with smugglers for allegedly accepting “tara” or grease money from brokers or consignees of imported shipments.

He has put in place counter measures at IG to check and validate reports if his own men are involved in corrupt activities.

“If we know an employee who is on the take (of tara) or close to a player (importer of goods), we get another person to hit the shipment. That is when we would catch him because he takes the side of the player,” the source said.