By Cris Larano
The head of the Philippine customs bureau resigned Thursday over
what he called mounting political pressure undermining his efforts
to fight corruption at the agency.
"We know that the Bureau of Customs has the reputation of being
the most corrupt government agency," Customs Commissioner John
Philip Sevilla said. "I don't have any illusions that corruption
has been eliminated. But I am proud that it has been reduced,
although it remains a big problem."
Mr. Sevilla said pressure has intensified in recent weeks for
him to sign off on key appointments favored by politically
connected groups.
Mr. Sevilla's resignation highlights the difficulty faced by
reformers at other government agencies as the end nears for
President Benigno Aquino's single, six-year term, which expires in
June 2016. Mr. Aquino made fighting corruption the centerpiece of
his efforts to rekindle confidence and economic growth in the
Southeast Asian country.
A former undersecretary of the Department of Finance and
previously an executive director of the Asian Special Situations
Group at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. in Hong Kong, Mr. Sevilla was
appointed to head the customs bureau in December 2013 with a
mandate to increase tariff collection, go after smugglers, improve
efficiency and root out corrupt officers.
The customs bureau is the second biggest revenue generator for
government, contributing around one-fifth of tax collection.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who oversees the bureau, said Mr.
Sevilla has helped increase collections, improved efficiency and
brought cases against smugglers and officials. He vowed to continue
reforms.
Mr. Sevilla said his resignation would take effect when a
replacement is named.
Presidential elections are scheduled in May next year. Mr.
Aquino will likely endorse a candidate, but his own popularity has
been hurt by a botched counterterrorism raid in January that left
dozens of police commandos dead.
Write to Cris Larano at cris.larano@wsj.com
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