Lawmakers from the Liberal Party (LP) on Tuesday downplayed the claims of a member of United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) that former Customs Commissioner John Phillip P. Sevilla resigned from office because of an alleged pressure for him to produce a P3-billion contribution quota for LP’s campaign kitty.
LP Secretary-General Mel Senen Sarmiento of Samar said UNA is apparently lost in a time warp that they think that they are still living under another regime, when the so-called quota system was practiced at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
Earlier, UNA interim president and Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said Sevilla refused to raise P3 billion for the campaign kitty of the LP, that’s why the group pressured the Customs commissioner to resign.
Sarmiento added that it is also interesting to note that UNA seems to be very familiar with the so-called quota system, a practice, which “was reportedly prevalent in the past but has long been shut down by the Aquino administration.”
He said the LP would welcome a deeper investigation on the lobbying claims of Sevilla, as he pointed out that even the former Customs commissioner never mentioned about the so-called P3-billion contribution quota.
Sarmiento added that Sevilla was only complaining about an alleged pressure being exerted by members of the Aquino cabinet for the appointment of another BOC official to another post.
“Obviously, UNA was only putting words into former Commissioner Sevilla’s mouth because there was no mention of a so-called P3-billion contribution for LP. He was complaining about lobbying of a certain position but did not mention specific cases of corruption,” Sarmiento added.
“This so-called P3-billion quota claim of UNA is an outright lie. Commissioner Sevilla has made no such claim as the interim head of UNA; it is the responsibility of UNA to prove this allegation,” the lawmaker said.
Sarmiento added that they would welcome any investigation about the previous claims of Sevilla, despite his decision to retract them, as the party is also as curious as everyone else on what really triggered his decision to resign.
Meanwhile, LP Rep. Edgar Erice of Caloocan has accused Tiangco of lying by insisting that Sevilla quit after being compelled to raise P3 billion in campaign funds.
“LP has absolutely nothing to do with the resignation of Sevilla and the return of former Customs chief Alberto D. Lina to his old post. The LP does not need dirty money to pursue the presidential politicians’ campaign next year,” Erice said.
“There is no place for dirty money in LP and those who have plenty of it are in the company of Tiangco,” he added.
It seems BOC Intelligence Group chief Jessie Dellosa is now feeling the pressure to relinguish his post following the appointment of Lina as head of the BOC.
In a strongly worded statement distributed to the members of the media, Dellosa admitted that there are calls for him to resign following the resignation of Sevilla last week.
He, however, did not identify those calling for his ouster.
Dellosa admitted that Sevilla’s resignation prompted him to assess whether it is still worth to remain in his post and pursue the reforms that have been initiated over the past 16 months.
But he finally decided to continue with his post and block any efforts to bring the bureau back to its dark past by some groups with vested interest.
“I will stay despite the call to resign. I will not allow the shrewd and the scheming to ease me out of the bureau on the often-cited principle of delicadeza,” Dellosa said.
“I will stay to defeat the designs of individuals and groups with vested interests. Magagamit lang tayo kung tayo ay magpapagamit,” he added.
A BOC insider said Dellosa was specifically instructed upon his appointment to be at the frontline of the fight against smuggling and other irregularities in the bureau.
“I think he is being pressured to resign from his post because if he leaves, then it would be easy for some groups to use the BOC as milking cow for the coming elections,” the source said.
(With Joel R. San Juan)
1 comment
OMG! Lies! Is this newspaper an LP propaganda mouthpiece?