ONE of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s appointees at the Bureau of Customs said he resigned voluntarily from his post, with no pending cases filed against him.
“I was never forced to resign,” Collection Service Director Marlon Fritz Broto told The Manila Times.
He admitted, however, that Customs Commissioner Ariel Nepomuceno issued a “show cause order (SCO),” dated Sept. 12, 2025, giving him five days to explain why he should not be charged “with grave misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”
The order also directed Broto to further explain why he should not be charged with graft “in relation to your issuance of Notices of Preliminary Investigation and alleged solicitation or acceptance of money from the importers subject of the Notices.”
Broto said he submitted his response days after he received the order.
“I was issued a show cause order on Sept. 12. I submitted my response on Sept. 16. Until today, no action to it and no formal charges. Instead, I was issued a clearance by the Legal Service,” Broto said.
“I was never forced to resign. I don’t have a case. The issuance of a show cause order is normal at the BOC,” he said.
Broto was the district collector at the Port of Subic before he was promoted to head the Collection Service.
He said his tenure at the Port of Subic was marked by strong internal support and positive performance assessments, and that he was commended for his leadership and operational reforms by then SBMA chairman Eduardo Jose Alino.
Broto was subsequently appointed as director of the Port Operations Service (POS) from May to August 2025, and later transferred to the Collection Service, where he served from September to November 2025.
Records show that Broto’s resignation was endorsed by Nepomuceno and approved by Acting Finance Secretary Ralph Recto in a letter, dated Dec. 16, 2025, addressed to Acting Finance Secretary Frederick Go.