Lim still in? PNoy says no to Customs exec's offer to resign - report

MANILA, Philippines - President Benigno Aquino III rejected the Deputy Customs Commissioner for Intelligence Danilo Lim's offer to resign, a report said.

Lim revealed to GMA News in a phone interview Wednesday that Aquino refused to let him go even after the president criticized the bureau in his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday.

Lim is the second Customs official who tendered his resignation amid recent controversies hounding the bureau, followed by another deputy commissioner Juan Lorenzo Tañada who offered to quit Wednesday.

Earlier, Aquino also rejected Commissioner Ruffy Biazon's plan to quit his post after the SONA, saying he still has confidence in the Customs chief.

Malacañang has said that like Biazon's letter of resignation, Lim and Tañada's offers are not irrevocable.

Lim, who submitted his resignation to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, earlier said that "powerful forces" inside the agency led him to his decision to resign.

"Meron tayong gagawin, meron tayong ia-alert o huhulihin, kakaalis mo pa lang, marami nang tumatawag, nakikiusap. Napipilitan tayo. Kung minsan, nagba-balancing act. Kung minsan, 'pag hindi mo napagbigyan, may sasama ang loob, magtatampo," Lim, a former Army brigadier general, said.

He also explained that the demands of the job have been posing risks to his health.

"Mahirap ang trabaho sa BOC. Nung bago ako pumasok diyan, napakaganda ng health ko. Ngayon, nag-uumpisa na kong mag-take ng maintenance na gamot para sa high blood. Hindi biro ang trabaho diyan," Lim said. - Camille Diola