Speaker: Row with BOC lawyer all about drugs

MANILA, Philippines - The controversy involving him and an official of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) is all about illegal drugs, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez said yesterday.

Other House leaders alleged the feud between Alvarez and Mandy Therese Anderson, chief of staff of BOC Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, is not related to the Speaker’s recommendation to promote an “unqualified” BOC officer as she had asserted.

The quarrel, if they are to be believed, is allegedly an attempt by Customs officials to cover up their inefficiency and the mysterious release of P6.4 billion worth of shabu that a team led by Faeldon himself recovered in Valenzuela City in May.

Meanwhile, Anderson described as preposterous the allegations that illegal drugs was behind the quarrel between her and Alvarez.

She denied exposing Alvarez’s request to promote a BOC personnel to divert the media and public attention from the illegal drug issue. 

“These are libelous and preposterous imputations and allegations which are not backed by a single iota of evidence,” Anderson said.

“We have to stop detracting from the important issues at hand. The BOC is very interested in clearing everything up, that’s why we have been transparent and looking forward to these congressional investigations,” she said.

Alvarez said he did not want to comment on Anderson’s allegation that he pushed hard for the promotion of acting Customs operations officer V Sandy Sacluti, so as not to divert the drug issue being investigated by the House committee on dangerous drugs.

On Friday night, Alvarez initially denied Anderson’s statement, saying it was “far from the truth.”

He later admitted endorsing Sacluti after he was shown a letter dated May 15, which he sent to Faeldon, but was leaked to the media.

Alvarez’s letter fell on the desk of lawyer-accountant Anderson, who did not endorse Sacluti’s promotion.

Anderson said Sacluti is not qualified for the post he is seeking and which he is holding in an acting capacity.

She said the Speaker got mad at her and called Faeldon, who also did not agree to promote Sacluti.

In separate statements, Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas and Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chairman of the committee on dangerous drugs, reiterated Alvarez’s claim that his feud with Faeldon’s aide is about illegal drugs.

Fariñas came up with a timeline, starting from Faeldon’s May 26 Valenzuela City raid, the filing by Barbers five days later of a resolution seeking an inquiry, Anderson’s Facebook post on June 16 criticizing Alvarez and the receipt of such post by certain House members on June 25, a day before a hearing in which the majority leader confronted Anderson about her comment.

Anderson said that since there has been a lot of controversy and questions surrounding the shabu shipment, the BOC is contemplating to tap the help of an independent international organization that would conduct a fair investigation into the issue. 

She said aside from the congressional inquiry, the National Bureau of Investigation is conducting a separate probe into the incident. 

In her “private” Facebook account, Anderson called the Speaker an “imbecile” for threatening to abolish the Court of Appeals for allegedly meddling with the House over the detention of six Ilocos Norte provincial officials.

“Who could have leaked her private post if not she herself and her cohorts in order to divert the public from the House’s investigation of the smuggling of more than P5 billion worth of shabu through the BOC express lane?” Fariñas asked.

“Hindsight is the best sight – isn’t the dragging of the name of the Speaker by Atty. Anderson a clear attempt to divert the issue on the BOC’s ineptitude, given all the former military officials in its leadership?” he said.

He said the huge drug shipment would not have been recovered had the Chinese authorities in Xiamen, the source of the shabu, not alerted the BOC about the contraband.

Fariñas said the House would also look into Faeldon’s consultants.

Barbers claimed the reports about the Alvarez-Anderson feud “indicated a deliberate effort to distract public attention away from the real issue,” which he said was the P6.4-billion shabu smuggling.

He said his committee would conduct a hearing on the case on Tuesday and invited Faeldon, Anderson and other BOC officials to attend the inquiry. 

BOC needs 150 personnel

The BOC is hiring 150 personnel in line with the implementation of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act (CMTA), Faeldon said.

 “We need to take advantage of the more than 50 percent unfilled vacancies. We will beef up our team with 3,000 more employees this year and an additional 4,000 once the proposed executive order for restructuring is signed,” he said.  

Aside from revenue collection, the BOC is mandated to secure the country’s borders from illicit trade and ensure speedy and efficient flow of trade and commerce.

“Applicants have until Aug. 11 to apply at the BOC,” Faeldon said, adding documents must be submitted to the agency’s human resource management division (HRMD).

Successful applicants will be among the first batch of employees who will undergo a six-month training at the Philippine Customs Training Center.

BOC employees who are qualified under the next-in-rank policy are automatically included in the selection process as candidates for promotion within their organizational mother unit.

Applicants are allowed to apply for one position only. Those who submitted their applications in 2016 must submit again the required documents, according to HRMD acting director Joseph Escasio.

“External recommendations are not necessary and should not be among the documents to be submitted to the HRMD, Faeldon said. 

He said employees who would be chosen to undergo training would receive salaries.

“Those who will finish the training will be given plantilla positions, and are expected to develop a deeper sense of patriotism, excellence, non-violence, safety, integrity and leadership,” Faeldon said. – With Edith Regalado