Athletes say no intel provided to BOC

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Customs (BOC) paid them P50,000 monthly as intelligence agents, but did not get any intel information in return. 

A former player of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) admitted before the House committee yesterday that they have not given any intelligence information to the BOC since they were hired as technical assistants last year. 

“Right now, we’re undergoing direct training on intelligence,” Edward Joseph Feihl told Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo.

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon earlier told lawmakers the PBA players were hired as intelligence agents to combat smuggling. 

Feihl and fellow Adamson University alumni Kenneth Duremdes, Marlou Aquino among other players admitted they had no workers’ daily time record (DTR) at the BOC since they were assigned in the field. 

Feihl, formerly of Alaska, said he receives a monthly net salary of P40,000 through an automated teller machine (ATM) account at the government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines. 

Duremdes said Faeldon hired him as technical assistant for special activities.

“More on public engagements, information dissemination and image building,” Duremdes said.

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas, who attended the hearing, said he wouldn’t want these PBA players charged, unlike the BOC officials. 

“They are victims here,” Fariñas said as he questioned Faeldon’s chief of staff Mandy Anderson on why she signed the DTRs of these players when as a lawyer, she knows it’s forgery. 

“What would the offense be? A DTR is a public document, isn’t it ma’am? It’s falsification of public documents, Mandy?” Fariñas asked Anderson, who replied “yes, your honor.”

“You’re a party to falsification of public documents. You’re a lawyer, you should have argued with your human resource officer, we should not let these people sign DTRs because it’s not true, it’s false and that’s a serious offense ma’am,” he said, referring again to Anderson.

The lawyer admitted she knew her liability and said that like the PBA players she is just a consultant as there is no plantilla position for chief of staff. “This is just a temporary (job). It was – from the very beginning,” she said.

Anderson said she resigned from the Villaraza law office the day after Faeldon recruited her. 

Former Court of Appeals justice and now Leyte Rep. Vicente Veloso raised the possibility that the 28 athletes whom Faeldon hired as intelligence officers might face criminal charges.