New graft chief John Sevilla in front line against corruption at Philippines customs
A new chief is making changes at a Philippines body that has a culture of bribery and extortion
Standing near mountains of goods destined to be smuggled through the Philippines' biggest port, the nation's customs chief admits that being on the front line of the president's war on graft is overwhelming.
"I've never seen anything like it," John Sevilla said, commenting on a pervasive culture of bribery, extortion and stealing at a government agency that collects revenues equivalent to 20 per cent of the nation's budget.
"There's no secret about the fact that this is not an agency which inspires a lot of trust and confidence among our people."
But Sevilla, a former Goldman Sachs executive in Hong Kong, has bold plans for systemic changes that are showing early signs of success.
President Benigno Aquino, who has made fighting graft a central tenet of his administration, appointed Sevilla to head the bureau in December last year after launching a scathing verbal assault on customs personnel.
"Where do these people get the gall," Aquino said in his annual State of the Nation address as he accused customs staff of "heedlessly permitting the smuggling of goods, and even drugs, arms and other items". He said customs personnel's greed cost the country at least 200 billion pesos (HK$35.5 billion) in lost revenue each year - 2 per cent of the country's economic output.
Several months later, the then-customs chief quit after being charged over a corruption scandal involving the alleged theft of government funds.