House panel recommends charges against Faeldon

Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

The House dangerous drugs committee has formally called for the filing of charges against resigned Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and several

others in connection with the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of “shabu” (crystal meth) that slipped past port controls in May.

This was one of the 15 recommendations outlined in the committee report released on Wednesday night.

The committee, chaired by Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, also sought legislation to replace the Bureau of Customs (BOC) with a new agency having a “different system of collection” to “avoid corruption and increase revenue collection.”

The committee also said all BOC officers should take a leave of absence or be replaced immediately to “give way for proper reform” and further investigation.

BOC officers found liable by the committee included Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service Director Neil Estrella, Deputy Commissioner Gerardo Gambala, Import Assessment Service Director Milo Maestrecampo and Faeldon’s chief of staff Mandy Therese Anderson.

The committee also sought charges against customs “fixer” Mark Ruben Taguba II.

Other private individuals included businessmen Chen Ju Long (aka Richard Tan or Richard Chen), Dong Yi Shen (aka Kenneth Dong) and Li Guang Feng (aka Manny Li), shipment consignee Eirene Mae Tatad, and customs broker Teejay Marcellana.

Bungled raid

The report faulted Faeldon and Estrella for bungling the seizure of the 604 kilograms of shabu and committing “serious procedural lapses,” which could “jeopardize” the chances of a case in court.

Their failure to coordinate with the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in raiding the warehouse owned by Chen on May 26 violated Section 87 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, it said.

The seizure of the smuggled drugs was also done without a search warrant or any legal document to support the operation, rendering the evidence “inadmissible” for being a “fruit of the poisonous tree,” it said.

While BOC officials argued they were armed with a letter of authority from Faeldon, the report noted it was only  presented to Chen at 9 a.m. on May 26, hours after Estrella’s raiding team began opening the cylindrical rollers concealing the shabu.

At the same time, the report said, the “controlled delivery” of only 100 kg of shabu to a second warehouse where the lone arrested suspect, Fidel Anoche Dee, was caught constituted “planting of evidence.”