DAVAO CITY — A businessman who fought smuggling in his container yard had confirmed that he hired the services of lawyer Manases Carpio, husband of Mayor Sara Duterte, to help him in his legal fight with the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

This, according to businessman Rodolfo Reta, was the reason for Carpio’s visits to the office of the port collection agency which were raised during the Senate investigation of bribe collections, or tara, at the BOC.

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Reta owns the Aquarius Container Yard at the Sasa Port here, which used to be designated as an examination area for cargo by the BOC in Davao.

Reta confirmed hiring Carpio in a statement issued on Thursday, days after opposition Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, President Duterte’s toughest critic, linked Carpio, Mr. Duterte’s son-in-law, and son Paolo to smuggling at the BOC.

Senate testimony

During his testimony at the Senate, Carpio said he went to the BOC office at the Port Area in Manila to represent Reta in his legal battle with the bureau in connection with what Reta said was the arbitrary closure in 2010 of his container yard as a designated examination area (DEA).

“It is true that I hired the firm of (Attorney Carpio) to help me in my legal problems with the BOC,” Reta said.

Reta has been fighting the BOC’s termination of his 25-year contract for the operation of a DEA at the Sasa Port. So far, he succeeded only in his bid to remove two senior BOC officials—including former Davao Customs collector, Anju Nereo Castigador, who was sacked in 2012.

In the charges he filed at the Regional Trial Court here against the BOC, Reta said Customs officials in Davao had rescinded his DEA contract because he refused to tolerate smuggling in his container yard.

Reta said his DEA contract was rescinded when he refused to heed the order of BOC officials not to thoroughly examine some cargoes—including imported rice shipments.

Anticorruption

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Castigador sought to turn the tables on Reta, accusing the businessman of giving special treatment to selected shippers.

But Reta said his determination to examine all cargoes passing through his container yard was proof he was instead helping the government fight corruption at the BOC in Davao. —Frinston Lim

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