Patronage and corruption in customs

Over a week ago, still unknown motorcycle riding gunmen ambushed Deputy Customs Collector of Cebu City, Edgardo "We-We" Lao, Customs Examiner Bennet Sorino and their driver Samuel Dejan, an attack which also took the life of an innocent bystander, 16-year old Allan Dave Ravina, a senior at the Abellana National High School who was merely buying a bananacue.

That this dastardly attack happened virtually at the doorstep of the Regional Headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP), even interrupting an Anti-Drug conference conducted by no less than PNP Deputy Director General Edgardo Aglipay is a grave embarrassment to the police. What this means to the ordinary citizenry is that the PNP can no longer even guarantee the security of the two schools just across the street from them!

What’s worrisome is that, just a day after the killing of Lao, another Customs official, formerly assigned here in Cebu, District Collector Felipe Bartolome was ambushed in Manila, but only his driver Erwin Melmida also from Cebu died in that ambush. Thanks to the corruption in the Customs, even innocent bystanders are dying because of this! Clearly, these killings were done by professional killers with nationwide links. Now the police have to find out who’s the syndicate behind these killings.

There is no question that there’s big money in corrupt dealings with the Customs to the point their being so bold as to kill in order to get what they want! I only met Deputy Collector We-We Lao once, just a little over a month ago when I wrote an article questioning why he was made Deputy Collector at the Port of Cebu when there was supposed to be a lifestyle check on him. No doubt, someone wanted to expose him and asked me to write about this because he can no longer trust the media in Cebu.

Yes, it is common knowledge here that there’s a "Friday Club" of media personalities that meet at the Customs every Friday… thus with this camaraderie with certain media (mea culpa… many in the media also help corrupt our government officials) personages, no ugly story about the customs ever leaks out. Since I don’t belong in that circle, I was asked to write this report, my only condition of course is that the report is documented and indeed, it was. Hence, I wrote that article about Lao.

When that article came out, I got a request from a close media friend that Mr. Lao wanted to explain his side and yes, we did meet at Eddies Hotel together with a close media friend of mine. It was then that he told me that the report in my possession was already a couple of years old, hence I asked him that if it was already a finished case, I just wanted some kind of clearance on that investigation, which of course he promised to send me. A week later, I reminded him for that clearance and I was told that he was still securing it. Well, the next thing I knew, someone already finished him off!

Let me point out two things he mentioned to me during our meeting that he was related to my wife’s family, something unfortunately, I nor my wife didn’t even know. But when my brother-in-law confirmed that relation, I merely told him that he was related to my wife’s family, not me. But perhaps the most important question I posed to the late Mr. Lao is who was his "padrino" who put him in the Bureau of Customs as Deputy Collector? Without a blink of an eye, he answered "Sen. Barbers". Mr. Lao’s answer to me confirms our suspicions that "patronage politics" is very strong in many government offices, especially the Bureau of Customs.

At this point, we still have no leads on who killed Mr. Lao, Mr. Sorino, the poor Allan Dave Ravina and the driver Erwin Melmida. I would like to believe that the mastermind of these killings could be found in the records of Customs because surely, they have dealings with the Customs. The question is, will this case ever be solved? Right now, we’re facing a blank wall.

Meanwhile, with Mr. Lao gone to his maker, we will never know whether he was corrupt or not. We gathered that he has many houses and cars and in fact, I asked the police whether the Trooper where he was ambushed was in his name. I asked this question because it is common practice by government officials not to put luxury vehicles in their name because they just can’t explain why they own such vehicles. When We-We Lao was ambushed many radio commentators even asked whether the Bureau of Customs had Isuzu Troopers as official vehicles. Todate, we haven’t been given a proper response.

Finally, about patronage politics. This is something very widely practiced in this country and I dare ask President Arroyo to include this in their reform package. Someday, we envision a corrupt free nation whereby a government official gets to his post based on his merits, not his connections. While we are still so far away from this day, we must bring this issue out in the open now before another military uprising breaks out and uses this problem as their major issue. Perhaps, one way to stop this practice is to publish the names of the people who recommended this or that official to that post!

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Here’s an emailed response to our July 28 (Monday) article:

"Mr. Avila,

I enjoyed reading your article because I agree with your assessment that the Filipino is to blame for the mess our country is in. The reason I am writing you though is to suggest an article about corruption in the military — while the issue is hot from this recent coup. Lifestyle checks are being done on BIR and Customs personnel, and think this should be extended to the military top brass. The involvement in politics and power the military had in the Marcos years has carried over to the present, and remain unchecked.

It is only through the "reminders and eye-opening articles" in the media can these personnel be exposed and their power checked. Articles that you just wrote are small wake up calls chipping away at the Filipinos’ apathy towards corruption in Philippine society. More power, God bless, and thank you for your time. Lee Plagata, San Jose, CA USA".

Thank you Lee, and here’s another one on patronage politics!

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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talk show entitled, "Straight from the Sky" shown every Monday only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 on SkyCable at 8 p.m.