Philippines customs chief Sevilla quits after 15 months due to 'patronage politics'

The head of the Philippines' graft-laden customs bureau resigned after 15 months yesterday, citing political pressure over key appointments that he said endangered the government's fight against corruption.

Though the Philippines ranks 85th among 175 countries rated by the Corruption Perception Index of watchdog Transparency International, it has climbed 49 notches in the last four years in the biggest improvement among Southeast Asian nations.

John Sevilla, a former finance undersecretary and Goldman Sachs executive in Hong Kong, said he was resigning because of intense political pressure over appointments to powerful positions in his agency.

There was no basis for some proposed appointments, he said, with candidates being pushed for jobs despite lacking competence to do them.

"Patronage politics has no place in customs," Sevilla said. "I believe that the 'straight path' (good governance) is in grave danger here in customs."

He will be replaced by Alberto Lina, president of logistics firm Air21, the Philippine FedEx licensee, and a customs commissioner during the term of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Sevilla said he had no illusions that corruption had been eliminated during his tenure at the Customs bureau, which accounts for about a fifth of state revenues in South East Asia's fastest growing nation.