Faeldon a ‘hypocrite’ for denying hand in BOC anomalies—PDEA exec
Resigned Bureau of Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon.
INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA
A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) official branded resigned Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon as “hypocrite” for denying his involvement in the alleged corruption inside the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said on Tuesday.
Lacson said he had a conversation on Monday with Wilkins Villanueva, PDEA’s regional director, to follow up on the agency’s efforts to quell the corruption in BOC.
“Natawa lang ako dahil ibinahagi n’ya (Villanueva) sa akin na tinanong n’ya ‘yung mga players, tinanong nya ‘yung lahat ng nakakaalam sa Customs, at lahat naman talaga nagco-confirm na si Faeldon meron eh. Talaga naman. Ang tigas pa ng kakatanggi, ang ginamit nga niyang (Villanueva) salita ‘alam mo ‘yung taong ‘yan napaka-hipokrito.’ Sabi ko, ‘sinabi mo,'” the senator said in an interview over DZMM.
(I found it funny that Villanueva once told me that he asked the players and those in the know at the customs and they confirmed the issues about Faeldon. He vehemently denied these allegations, but Villanueva said that Faeldon was a hypocrite. And I agreed.)
Prior to this, Lacson said Villanueva updated him that they had fired unscrupulous collectors in BOC to do away with the agency’s “tara” system.
“Kahapon kausap ko lang din si Director Wilkins Villanueva nandun nagtatrabaho na at humingi ako ng feedback ano bang ginagawa n’yo para mawala yung tara. May mga tinanggal silang collectors eh. Continuous pa rin ‘yung pagbe-benchmarking, agad-adad tinanggal nila,” Lacson said.
(I just talked to Villanueva yesterday and asked him for updates on their efforts to remove the tara system. They fired some collections. The benchmarking is continuous, and once they find unscrupulous individuals, they remove them.)
During their conversation, the senator said he suggested to Villanueva to conduct an entrapment operation so it would send a “strong message” to corrupt employees inside the BOC.
“Sabi ko mas maganda dito makapaggawa kayo ng entrapment operation, may mahuli kayo, napaka-strong na message nu’n sa mga taga-loob na hindi na pepwede ‘yung dating gawi na sige-sige na lamang ‘yung pagbibigay ng tara,” he said.
(I suggested that it’s better for them to conduct an entrapment operation and apprehend someone because it will send a strong message to the employees that the practice of taking and accepting bribes is not acceptable.) /idl
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