Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Nicanor Faeldon on Tuesday appealed to Bureau of Customs (BOC) employees and the public to support his successor as the agency’s commissioner, former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director Isidro Lapeña.
In a statement, Faeldon also urged them to continue to support the reform agenda and the development programs of President Duterte. He said his relief from his post “is the best for our country.”
“I thank everyone who has supported the Bureau of Customs during my stay,” he said.
At a late press conference on Monday, President Rodrigo Duterte announced that he would replace Faeldon, who had sought to be replaced thrice at the BOC.
Faeldon resigned amid a scandal involving the smuggling of “shabu” (crystal meth) with a street value of P6.4 billion from China through the Port of Manila in May. It is believed to be the largest delivery of drugs under the Duterte administration.
Mr. Duterte plucked Lapeña from the PDEA to head the BOC because of his “honesty and trustworthiness,” Malacañang said on Tuesday.
Lapeña is also expected to clean up the BOC, according to presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.
“The mandate is to keep it trustworthy, clean and corruption-free,” Abella said in a press briefing. He also said Mr. Duterte chose another official with a military background because former soldiers were known for their efficiency.
Lapeña is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). He had also been a police director and had headed the Davao City Public Safety Command Center.
Faeldon also used to be a military officer and was among those who rose up against the administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Despite a change in leadership at the BOC, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III on Monday said the reform agenda at the Department of Finance-attached agency would continue.
Faeldon’s chief of staff, lawyer Mandy Anderson, said she was also leaving the bureau. —With a report from Ben O. de Vera