Philippine Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon still enjoys the support of President Rodrigo Duterte in spite calls by some legislators for Faeldon to step down following the P6.4-billion worth of metamphetamine hydrochloride (shabu) from China that slipped through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May.
“I stand by him. Really honest,” Duterte said during the celebration of the 19th founding anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption in Malacañang on Wednesday.
Duterte said he believes “almost all officials” at BOC are corrupt and that Faeldon was just “outplayed” by them.
“Nalusutan siya [They got around him],” Duterte said.
Senators Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan and Richard Gordon have earlier asked Faeldon to resign, as have Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers.
The 605 kilos of shabu were recovered inside the warehouse of Hongfei Logistics in Valenzuela on May 26 by operatives of the BOC, Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
On Tuesday Faeldon, who was absent last week from congressional hearings because of a heart attack, refused to answer Senator Antonio Trillanes’ query on whether there was corruption in the BOC. Faeldon said it was his duty to shield Customs employees from the controversy.
He was seen teary-eyed after Senate Blue Ribbon committee chairman Senator Richard Gordon called for a recess in the hearings. Following the recess, Trillanes again asked about the presence of corruption in the bureau. Faeldon then answered in the affirmative.
Criminal charge against nine individuals
In a related development, the NBI has filed with the Department of Justice criminal complaints against nine individuals in connection with the shabu shipment.
Charged for violating Section 4 (Importation of Dangerous Drugs and/or Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals) of Republic Act 9165, or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, are Taiwanese nationals Chen I. Min and Jhu Ming Jyun; Chinese nationals Li Guang Feng and chairman of Philippine Hongfei Logistics Group of Companies Chen Ju Long (or Richard Tan/Richard Chen); and Filipino nationals Fidel Anoche Dee (warehouse caretaker), Dong Yi Shen (or Kenneth Dong), middle man and trucker Mark Ruben Taguba II, customs broker Teejay A. Marcellana, and EMT Trading owner and consignee of the illegal shipment Eirene May A. Tatad.
Li, Dong and Taguba are facing separate complaints for Unauthorized Practice of Customs Broker Profession under Section 28 of Republic Act 9280 or the Customs Brokers Act of 2004.
“Subjects, through their indispensable cooperation, caused the importation of five wooden crates from China,” the letter complaint stated.
“Further, subjects Li, Dong, and Taguba are engaged in the practice of customs brokers for providing their services as consultants on the preparation of documents for the importation of Hongfei, notwithstanding that they are not registered as customs brokers with the Professional Regulation Commission,” it added.
Immediately after the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing on Tuesday, NBI officials arrested Dong due to a pending warrant of arrest on a rape case issued by a Parañaque Regional Trial Court. – with reports from Aubrey Joyce Bajo
