Faeldon apologizes for influence-peddling claim but stands his ground

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon (right) addresses questions from the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee during the hearing on the P6.4-billion worth of smuggled shabu from China on Monday, July 31, 2017. (FILE PHOTO by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Embattled Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon has apologized to congressmen who were affected by his statement that some have resorted to influence-peddling.

Yet, he maintained that “less than 10” lawmakers made unreasonable requests and tried to pressure the agency into promoting select employees. He refused to name names, however.

“I categorically apologize to those who have done nothing to the Bureau. There are very few who have [tried to] influence the Bureau,” Faeldon said during the House of Representatives ways and means committee’s investigation late Wednesday afternoon.

Committee chair Rep. Dakilo Carlo Cua said Faeldon’s statements “put everybody in a bad light.”

“If you are really serious about it, file a case so you do not damage the institution,” Cua told Faeldon.

Hours before, a defiant Faeldon said in a briefing in Manila: “I am appealing to you. You know that your request is a form of corruption but you insist and you even get mad. Shame on you. Stop it.”

The issue of alleged influence peddling first arose on Thursday, when Faeldon’s chief of staff Mandy Therese Anderson accused House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez of forcing the permanent appointment of acting Customs Operation Officer Sandy Sacluti at the Formal Entry Division of the Port of Manila. JE