New Customs chief hit over P200-M onion and garlic scam

Customs Commissioner John Phillip Sevilla. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Newly-appointed Customs commissioner John Sevilla was called “very arrogant” after failing to attend a House investigation into an alleged P200 million onion and garlic anomaly Tuesday.

In the committee on good government and public accountability hearing on Tuesday, Leyte Representative Andres Salvacion Jr. chastised Sevilla when he failed to show up for a second time on the investigation into the purportedly anomalous issuance of importation permit by the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).

“Your commissioner is very arrogant. He always ignores (our invitation for the investigation),” Salvacion told Cesar Corpuz who was sent by Sevilla to represent him.

“Maybe he only considers the President of the Republic. He does not consider his responsibility of attending the hearing,” he added.

1-Bap Rep. Silvestre Bello III urged the panel to compel Sevilla to submit in writing why he failed to attend hearings.

“The commissioner is sick with arrogance. I would like to move that the commissioner be allowed to explain in writing why he failed to attend,” Bello said.

According to Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga’s resolution calling for a probe,  a certain Leah Cruz operated the P200 million importation scam.

Only the companies of Cruz were supposedly granted permits by the BPI to import garlic and onions.

Cruz allegedly used dummy companies owned by her drivers, clerks and house helpers as owners of her companies, according to the resolution.

Cruz then operated a “monopoly” that allowed her to profit “through fraudulent means in the amount of almost P200 million.”

Cruz was likened to controversial businesswoman Napoles who allegedly operated a billion pesos racket on lawmakers’ discretionary pork barrel funds using bogus non-government organizations for kickbacks.

Napoles is jailed on charges of illegal detention.

RELATED STORY

House to probe plant bureau’s P200-M ‘Napoles scam’