Sen. Leila de Lima
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA
Sen. Leila de Lima dared on Friday resigned Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to expose all the names of smugglers and government officials involved in a lot of controversy at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
“Faeldon must also expose all other personalities involved in smuggling or other Customs-related anomalies, including senators, congressmen, and other public officials, specifically those belonging to the so-called Davao Group that facilitated the P6.4-billion shabu shipment,” De Lima said in a statement.
Faeldon on Thursday alleged Sen. Panfilo Lacson’s son and namesake, Panfilo Jr., for smuggling billions-worth of cement into the country and attempting to bribe one of Faeldon’s staff.
De Lima said Faeldon’s accusations were serious accusations, as serious as Lacson’s accusations that the commissioner benefitted from the “tara system” that has plagued the agency for decades.
“The revelations of Faeldon must be thoroughly investigated in the same way that Senator Lacson’s allegations against Faeldon should be the subject of an exhaustive probe,” the detained senator said.
READ: Faeldon fires back, accuses Lacson son cement smuggler
Faeldon should not consider anybody a “sacred cow,” De Lima said. She urged the former commissioner to bare all he knows about the Davao Group that was identified by private customs broker Mark Taguba of having links to the illegal shipment at the BOC.
“If he does not really consider anybody a sacred cow, even a senator’s son, he should not stop there. He should go all the way to the top even if it implicates the presidential son,” de Lima said.
The vice mayor has kept his silence on the issue but President Rodrigo Duterte has defended him, saying that Paolo was only engaged in selling “ukay-ukay” (used clothing), not smuggling in ports.
READ: Duterte says son engaged in ‘ukay-ukay’ not smuggling in ports
“This should be the true test of his credibility. Otherwise, his imputations about Senator Lacson’s knowledge of his son’s illegal activities will just appear to be a lame counter-attack that is as selective as it is spiteful,” de Lima added. JPV