Nicanor Faeldon. INQUIRER PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
Can Senator Richard Gordon investigate the cement smuggling into the country allegedly involving his own colleague?
Resigned Custom Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon posed this challenge on Thursday after calling Senator Panfilo Lacson a “smuggler” or a possible “dummy” of the latter’s son and namesake, Panfilo Lacson Jr.
“Senator Dick Gordon, hanga ako sa ingay mo e. O, tingnan natin kung kaya mong imbestigahan ito ha,” Faeldon said in a televised press conference.
(Senator Dick Gordon, I admire your bluster. Now let’s see if you can investigate this.)
“Don’t tell the public half-truth. We want the the whole truth. ‘Yung half-truth is a lie e so imbestigahan natin to (A half-truth is a lie so investigate this) because according to the cement manufacturers association of the Philippines, Bonjourno is the number one smuggler of cement to the country. Hindi ako ang nagsabi nyan (I wasn’t the one who said that)…” he added.
Faeldon claimed that Bonjourno is the company allegedly owned by Lacson’s son. The firm, he said, had smuggled billion-worth of cement into the country.
READ: Faeldon points Lacson a smuggler
The resigned official suspects that Senator Lacson himself might have been involved in the smuggling activities of his son.
“I urge you to investigate this. Player ka (Senator Lacson) ba, player ba ang anak mo? Dummy mo ba ito, dummy mo ba ito? Ito ba yung mga dummy nyo, ang mga kompanyang ito (Are you a player, is your son a player? Is this your dummy)? Investigate it,” Faeldon said.
“Front mo ba ito? Ito ba yung dummy company mo? So maganda itong imbestigahan kasi involved ka, senator,” he added.
(Is this your front? Is this your dummy company? This should be investigated because you’re involved, senator.)
But Lacson, in a statement, said he had nothing to do with the business activities of his son.
“Second, there is no smuggling of cement as it is not subject to customs tariff and duties but only subject to VAT, which my son said when I checked with him just now, they always pay,” he said.
Lacson said Faeldon should have filed charges against his son if Faeldon’s allegations were true.
“It doesn’t make sense that I will expose the shenanigans in the BOC (Bureau of Customs), if my son is cheating on taxes as Faeldon is now accusing him of. The logical thing for me to do is not to make the expose’ and just keep quiet,” he said.
“For the record, I have always reminded my son to be on the level in whatever business dealings he would have because if not, I’ll be the first one to castigate him and even initiate filing of charges against him,” the senator added.
Senator Lacson earlier accused Faeldon of allegedly receiving P100 million “pasalubong” (welcome gift) when the latter assumed the BOC post. JE