Lapeña takes over Faeldon as Customs chief
Nicanor Faeldon (left) passed on the leadership of the Bureau of Customs to Isidro Lapeña (right) in rites at the agency on Wednesday, August 30, 2017. INQUIRER FILES
Resigned Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon officially passed on the bureau’s leadership to incoming Commissioner Isidro Lapeña on Wednesday morning.
“I appeal to you, BOC officials to support every reform the new commissioner will be implementing in the bureau. He will be better than me,” Faeldon said during his speech at the turnover ceremony.
“Please sana mapagkatiwalaan nyo si Commissioner and come forward and name the corrupt employees in Customs… Let us work together and fix this bureau,” the outgoing BOC chief told the importers and the public.
President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Lapeña, then Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) director, after accepting Faeldon’s resignation amid the issue of P6.4-billion illegal drug shipment that slipped past through the BOC.
READ: Duterte names Lapeña as new Customs chief to replace Faeldon
Despite this, the President said his “trust and confidence” over Faeldon remained.
“From the tone of his resignation, he is really disappointed. But I really believe he is an honest man,” Duterte said in a press conference in Malacañang on August 21.
The President announced that Chief Supt. Aaron Aquino, Cental Luzon police director, would replace Lapeña at the PDEA.
Aside from the drug shipment issue, Senator Panfilo Lacson also accused Faeldon of corruption.
In a privilege speech on August 23, Lacson claimed that Faeldon received a P100 million worth “pasalubong” or “welcome gift” upon assuming his position at the BOC.
READ: Holy mackerel! Lacson bares Faeldon got P100-M ‘pasalubong’
Faeldon quickly belied this accusation and fired back at Lacson, tagging the company of the senator’s son as the “number 1 cement smuggler in the country.”
Lacson denied this, saying that he would not expose the “shenanigans” in Customs if Faeldon’s accusations to his son were true. CBB
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