Chiz urges Senate to probe Customs 'padrino' system

MANILA, Philippines - Senator Chiz Escudero has filed a resolution asking the Senate to probe the alleged political patronage that has been plaguing the embattled Bureau of Customs (BOC).

Escudero, Senate finance committee chairman, urged the Blue Ribbon committee, the Ways and Means and the Finance committees, respectively to look into the "padrino system" that has been embedded in the agency by some members of Congress.

Escudero said this political patronage is a "loud whisper that cannot and should not be ignored anymore." 

"We in Congress should police our own ranks. Who else will look into this if we ourselves turn our eyes away from it?" asked Escudero, who filed Senate Resolution Number 124.

The BOC was berated by no less than President Benigno Aquino III for the supposed incompetence and corruption in the agency.

Three officials, including Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon, have offered their resignation. Biazon has also ordered a reshuffle of personnel in his bureau as part of the reforms being implemented.

In previous media reports and interviews, some BOC officials admitted that the "padrino system" is difficult to break up because it is deeply entrenched inside and outside the system. They also claimed that "powerful forces" are interfering in the agency's operations.

Escudero challenged the BOC officials to name names so that those who are guilty can be made accountable.

"Assuming that not all employees of the BoC are thieves, but the government must weed out all the thieves in the agency, and all those who dip themselves in its coffers, especially from members of Congress if there are," he said in a news release.

Escudero said the Customs, as the second biggest revenue earner in government, deserves a full and thorough legislative deliberation not only to institute reforms but also to cleanse it.

"The BOC has long been perceived as the most corrupt agency in the government. Its performance in terms of revenue collection is a major instrument for the government's target programs. Any deficit is directly proportional to the public's disadvantage".

The officials allegedly acting as "padrinos" in the BOC include House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who has been accused of protecting his brother Ricardo in the BOC.

Belmonte has denied the allegations.

"[M]y brother Ricardo has been in the Bureau of Customs for 34 years with an impeccable record. He certainly doesn't need me to back him. And I have never done so," Belmonte said in an earlier statement.

Executive Secretary Pacquito Ochoa was also one of the alleged "padrinos," but the Palace has denied his involvement in the supposed corruption in the bureau.