Dominguez: Faeldon not yet off the hook

Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III KING RODRIGUEZ/ Presidential Photo (FILE)

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon is not yet off the hook amid the controversy on the P6.4-billion worth of illegal drugs from China that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC) last May.

President Rodrigo Duterte summoned Faeldon in Malacañang on Tuesday night shortly after the hearing conducted by the House Committee on Public Order and Illegal Drugs.

Faeldon was accompanied by Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III in the said meeting.

Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Duterte “has expressed his full confidence in Faeldon and told him to focus on serving the country.”

READ: Duterte won’t fire Faeldon amid drug shipment probe – Finance chief

But in an ambush interview at the Bureau of Internal Revenue office in Quezon City, Dominguez said nobody was safe in the President’s drive against corruption.

“Nobody is safe, not even me,” said Dominguez when asked if Faeldon was not yet off the hook.

But when asked if the President had directives for Faeldon, Dominguez said, “You have to ask him (Duterte).

The finance chief said the Department of Finance would also have an investigation on the alleged drug shipment.

“We will wait for the results of the investigation of the legislature. We must respect them,” he said, pertaining to lawmakers.

“It is better to do this in sequence, so we are going to start (after Congress’ investigation),” he added. IDL