Certainty of punishment
At the Bureau of Customs, 64 officials and employees have been implicated in corruption. President Duterte appears determined to kick them out of the service ASAP despite reminders about the need for due process. A typical reaction among those who consider the BOC as one of the most corrupt government agencies was, “why only 64?”
Last Friday, Malacañang said another 100 Customs officials and employees face dismissal for involvement in corruption. If this keeps up, the BOC ranks may soon be decimated – which may not be an entirely bad development. It would pave the way for a long overdue, thorough housecleaning.
With the substantial amounts involved, however, Malacañang should expect strong resistance to any purge in the BOC. Those involved in corruption aren’t going to leave the service quietly. The best option for Malacañang is to dig up solid evidence and file administrative and criminal cases against suspected crooks.
This was what the National Bureau of Investigation did in the case of two officials of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. BIR-Pasig chief assessment officer Alfredo Pagdilao Jr. and revenue officer Agripina Vallestero were arrested after allegedly receiving marked money from the complainant at the Seda hotel in Quezon City on July 20. The two, accused of demanding a whopping P160 million from a telecommunications company to settle a P1.6-billion tax deficiency, were presented to the media last Friday by the NBI and the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission.
Pagdilao and Vallestero covered their faces as they were presented to the public together with the two bags of marked money amounting to P75 million – the compromise amount after the company haggled to bring down the tax “settlement.”
Perhaps the shame displayed by the two BIR officials can serve as a deterrent to similar extortion activities in the revenue-raising agency. Such arrests can also encourage the public to assist the government in its anti-graft campaign, as President Duterte is encouraging everyone to do. People can report cases of extortion on the part of state employees, and bribery on the part of the private sector, which can give certain players undue advantage over the competition.
These measures can be complemented by lifestyle checks, and a push by the President to lift bank secrecy laws in cases involving tax evasion and money laundering. No one must benefit from dirty money. The judiciary must do its part by speeding up adjudication of corruption cases. The biggest deterrent to wrongdoing is the certainty of being caught and punished.