Sen. Franklin Drilon INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
Two senators cast doubt over the timing of the allegations hurled by resigned Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon against Senator Panfilo Lacson and his son on Thursday.
“Suspecting iyong timing ni Commissioner Faeldon. Pagkatapos siya akusahan, ngayon lang niya ilalabas? Nakakaisang taon na siya sa Customs. Nakakapagtaka talaga,” Senator Bam Aquino said in a statement.
(The timing of Commissioner Faeldon is suspecting. After he was accused, only this time he’s exposing all of these. He has been a year at Customs. It is very suspicious.)
“He should have come out with this earlier on,” he added.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon pointed out that Faeldon’s expose was “an act of desperation.”
“Bakit ngayon lang (why only now?), 24 hours after Sen Lacson’s exposè? An act of desperation on the part of Faeldon,” Drilon said in a statement.
“I have full faith in the uprightness of Sen. Lacson and his family. Without any evidence other than Faeldon’s allegation, I will oppose any investigation. It will be a waste of time and will simply be used as a venue for character assassination,” he added.
Aquino also said he is confident Lacson could defend himself against the allegations of Faeldon that his son’s company is the “number one cement smuggler in the country.”
READ: Faeldon fires back, accuses Lacson son cement smuggler
“Si Sen. Lacson, marami siyang naipangalan sa kanyang expose kahapon. Palagay ko, lumalapit na nga siya sa katotohanan kaya siguro nagkakaroon ng ganitong klaseng mga akusasyon. Sen. Lacson, I think, will be able to defend himself and will be able to see them face off in the next hearings,” said Aquino.
(Sen. Lacson has named a lot in his expose yesterday. I think he has been getting closer that is why there is this kind of accusation coming out.)
Lacson had earlier denied Faeldon’s accusations, saying that the former Customs chief should have filed charges against his son if the “smuggling” issue was true. JPV
READ: Lacson: Faeldon should have filed charges against my son