Former BOC commish Alberto Lina to replace Sevilla as Customs chief

By AMANDA FERNANDEZ, GMA News

Published April 23, 2015 6:07pm

(Updated 7:44 p.m.) Businessman Albert Lina is set to replace John "Sunny" Sevilla as Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner, after the incumbent official on Thursday announced he filed his resignation before President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday.

Lina is the president of Air21 and served as Customs commissioner for five months in 2005 under the Arroyo administration.

In a media advisory, the BOC said a turnover ceremony will be held on Friday afternoon to welcome the new commissioner.

Sevilla, along with other officials, is expected to welcome the newly appointed commissioner.

"Ginawa ko na ang makakakaya ko, sana ang sumunod sa'kin, ipagpatuloy natin, mas maayos sana," Sevilla told reporters in a briefing on Thursday. "I hope he will do better than me, dahil lubhang-lubhang nasa panganib ang daang matuwid sa Customs."

Sevilla said he encountered difficulties in implementing reforms. "Kapag gawin mo ang tama sa Customs, may risk kang kahaharapin," he said.

"Maraming rude awakening, siguro any time sa buhay ko, dito face-to-face ka with the very ugly side of life," he said. "Kung hindi ka mag-i-ingat dito, aanayin ang budhi mo dito, e... Bribery, corruption, threats..."

Appointment push

Sevilla also questioned why the appointments of some officials are being pushed in the bureau, citing the case of Customs Intellectual Property Rights Division head Teddy Raval who is being pushed as head of the bureau's Enforcement and Security Service.

"Walang ibang dahilan na binibigay para sa appontment ni Attorney Raval," he said. "Malakas ang tulak na ma-promote sa matataas na posisyon sa Customs," Sevilla noted.

"Kapag nangyayari ang ganyan, pinu-push ang ganyan, ako ay nagdududa sa kanilang motivations," he added.

He claimed hearing from others that the "force" behind the push for Raval's appointment is the Iglesia ni Cristo.

"Lahat ng nagsasabi, Iglesia ni Cristo ang nagtutulak raw niyan, hindi ako nakakasiguro, at ayaw ko maniwala na sila ang nagtutulak, pero consistent sa nagtutulak sa appointment ni Attorney Raval iyon ang sinasabi," the official claimed. "Kung hindi sila, eh 'di sino? Maliwanag sa'kin kung sino ang nagtutulak na 'yon."

A report on GMA News TV's "Quick Response Team" quoted Edwin Zabala, spokesperson for the Iglesia Ni Cristo, as saying the head of the religious group has yet to make a comment.

GMA News Online also sought comment from Raval, but he was not at his office. A member of Raval's staff said he was at a conference.

Sevilla hopes the new Customs chief will continue the reforms now in place in the bureau.

Formerly a Finance undersecretary, Sevilla was appointed by President Benigno Aquino III to the bureau’s top post in December 2013, after then-Customs chief Ruffy Biazon resigned.

Biazon, a former congressman, stepped down after having been named by the Department of Justice as a respondent in a malversation case related to the alleged pork barrel scam.

Hyatt 10

The new Customs chief briefly served as Customs commissioner in 2005.

He was part of the so-called Hyatt 10, a group of eight Cabinet members and two bureau heads who tendered their irrevocable resignations in July 2005 and called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to follow suit at the height of the "Hello Garci" controversy.

The Hyatt 10 was composed of Customs Commissioner Lina, Education Secretary Florencio Abad, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles, National Anti-Poverty Commission Secretary Imelda Nicolas, Trade and Industry Secretary Juan Santos, Budget and Management Secretary Emilia Boncodin, Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman, Land Reform Secretary Rene Villa, and Bureau of Internal Revenue Commissioner Guillermo Parayno.

"Resignation is a legitimate constitutional option for effecting leadership change. Given the crisis in the presidency, this is the least disruptive and painful option that can swiftly restore normalcy and eventually bring us to prosperity," they said in a statement.

Shortly after the mass resignation, Surigao del Sur Rep. Prospero Pichay Jr., a staunch ally of Arroyo, asked the House committee on good government to investigate Lina and Parayno.

Pichay accused Lina and Parayno of conflict of interest since Lina accepted his post when his company, LGC Logistics, was still dealing with Customs.

Paryno, on the other hand, was one of the shareholders of LGC Logistics.

Lina denied the allegation, saying Pichay's accusations were part of a "smear job." – VS/JDS, GMA News

Tags: bureauofcustoms, johnsevilla, albertlina