House presses BOC chief to resign

MANILA, Philippines - Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and other congressmen yesterday urged Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to resign after a Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official accused him of “bungling” a case involving P6.4 billion worth of illegal drugs.

Alvarez told reporters that he was supporting the call of his colleagues for Faeldon to quit.

However, the Customs commissioner said he was not resigning.

“I am a soldier. I treat this job as a mission and I do not quit on a mission. Let the President fire me,” the former Navy officer said.

It was Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, committee chairman, who first called for Faeldon’s resignation, which was followed up by some panel members.  

Another administration lawmaker, Cavite Rep. Strike Revilla, also said he is in favor of Faeldon’s resignation.

“All the officials involved in the shabu controversy, led by Faeldon himself, should be sacked. They have not just undermined President Duterte’s campaign against drugs, they also defied his marching orders, which is for us to be drug-free,” he said.

After briefly attending Barbers’ hearing, Alvarez told reporters, “Well, it looks like for me, it (release of drugs) was intentionally done. We have no other conclusion, but let us ask our people. You, if you analyze what happened, it’s very clear.”

He described Faeldon as “not only incompetent but grossly incompetent.”

“What I fear is that there were other containers that got past Customs. We will dig deeper into this issue,” he said.

He also claimed that drug lords have employed “narco-PRs” to divert the issue from the smuggling of illegal drugs.

“That’s why I have not been answering the issues that have been hurled against me and which I will answer in due time,” Alvarez said.

He was referring to his being called an “imbecile” in a Facebook post by Faeldon’s chief of staff Mandy Therese Anderson for threatening to abolish the Court of Appeals in connection with the House detention of six Ilocos Norte provincial officials.

Anderson also revealed that the Speaker had pushed for the promotion of a Customs officer, whom she described as “unqualified.”

Faeldon and his chief of staff turned down the Speaker’s request.

According to Anderson, this angered Alvarez.

Alvarez initially denied Faeldon’s claim, saying it was “far from the truth.” He was later forced to admit endorsing a certain Sandy Sacluti when his May 15 letter-endorsement to Faeldon was leaked to the media.