Not to generalize but I think almost all office of customs has its rotten official, by personal experience even small packages they are taken to make some bucks.What took so long for them to punish those officials who are taking advantage of their power?
"The Office of the Ombudsman has ordered the dismissal from government service of Chief Customs Operations Officer Rafael Mendoza Merencilla—an official of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) assigned at the Port of Manila—for making false declarations in his Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs)," reports Michael Punongbayan in The Philippine Star.
The report explained: "The Ombudsman found that Merencilla earned only PHP449,676 annually while his wife, also a BOC employee, earned PHP176,184 per year but the official failed to declare at least six properties located in Lipa City and Las Piñas, with the property in Lipa measuring at least 18,535 square meters."
But, wait, there's more.
"Merencilla also failed to declare seven vehicles and from 1997 to 2009, his cash-on-hand increased from PHP30,000 in 1997 to PHP9,145,493.04 in 2009," pointed out the report.
Then, based on records submitted by the Bureau of Immigration, the Merencilla family also went on "several trips to the United States, Tokyo and Bangkok."
Most telling of all was the increase in Merencilla’s total assets from PHP4,480,000 in 1997 to PHP29,301,380.64 in 2009.
Bottom line: Things just don't add up.
Merencilla, who is tagged as "administratively liable," also had his civil service eligibility canceled and his retirement benefits taken away. He is barred him from re-entering government service.
