PDEA wants Faeldon, 37 others indicted for P6.4-B shabu shipment
Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon (right) and former Customs official Gerardo Gambala during a Senate inquiry. INQUIRER file photo / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) sought the indictment of former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and 37 others involved in the P6.4-billion smuggling of illegal drugs from China.
In its nine-page consolidated reply filed on Friday before the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation panel, the PDEA, represented by Seaport Interdiction Unit chief Norman Balquiedra, said the respondents “undeniably violated” Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 when the illegal drugs slipped past through the Bureau of Customs “either through corrupt or out of sheer incompetence.”
READ: Shabu shipments to Valenzuela warehouse began in June 2016, says caretaker
The PDEA argued that there was a probable cause to indict the respondents and their mere involvement in the smuggling, whether there was a criminal intent, makes them liable under the law.
“This fact is too glaring to require much underscoring and emphasis and every single individual who processed the importation and subsequent release of the dangerous drugs, regardless of their intent, are equally liable for the importation thereof,” the PDEA stated.
The agency said that it would no longer “belabor to discuss anymore each and every point raised by the respondents” as the issue has already been “exhaustedly threshed out” by both Houses of Congress.
Faeldon, who is currently detained at the Senate for being cited in contempt, was a no show in the hearing and was only represented by his counsel, Atty. Jose Diño.
The former Customs chief—along with former Customs officials Milo Maestrecampo, Neil Anthony Estrella, Joel Pinawin, Jelina Maree Magsuci, Oliver Valiente, Vincent Philip Maronilla, Alexandra Ventura, Randolph Cabansang, Dennis Maniego, Dennis Cabildo, and John Edillor—is facing charges of conspiracy to import illegal drugs and protect drug traffickers.
Customs importers, brokers, and warehouse owners—including Chen Ju Long (alias Richard Chen or Richard Tan), Chen Rong Huan, Genelita Arayan, Dennis Nocom, Zhang Hong, Rene Palle, Richard Rebistual, Mary Rose dela Cruz, Li Guang Feng (alias Manny Li), Don Yi Shan Xi (alias Kenneth Dong), Mark Ruben Taguba II, Teejay Apostol Marcellana, Eirene Mae Tatad, Emily Anoche Dee, Chen I-Min, Jhu Ming Jyun, John Doe, Jane Doe, and Richard Doe—are facing charges of importing and selling illegal drugs.
The DOJ panel led by Assistant State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes has set the next hearing of the complaint on November 8 for the filing of the joint rejoinder of the BOC and the National Bureau of Investigation. /jpv
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