Senate not inclined to free Faeldon

Former bureau of customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ Grig C. Montegrande

Nicanor Faeldon’s new job as deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD) should not require physical presence—the Senate was not inclined to free the former Customs chief who is currently detained in the chamber for contempt for refusing to testify in a drug smuggling investigation.

Aquilino Pimentel III, Senate president, said the chamber would keep Faeldon in detention for defying a summon to testify in the investigation of how a P6.4-billion “shabu” shipment got past the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under Faeldon’s watch.

Faeldon also refused to testify on allegations he took tens of millions of pesos in bribes as BOC head. The controversy prompted his firing as BOC chief in August.

Not solution

President Rodrigo Duterte had appointed Faeldon, a former mutineer, as deputy chief of the OCD, an agency under the Department of National Defense (DND).

But Pimentel said the appointment had no impact on Faeldon’s detention by the Senate.

“The solution to a problem like contempt is to purge yourself of the contempt. Not a new appointment or position in government,” Pimentel said in a statement.

Opposition senators pounced on Faeldon’s appointment as proof that the Duterte administration was not serious about Mr. Duterte’s proclaimed hatred of corruption.

“Is this government really serious about fighting corruption or is it ready to put this on the other side if an ally is involved in corruption?” said Sen. Bam Aquino, a Liberal Party (LP) member, in a statement.

Travesty of justice

Another senator, JV Ejercito, said that while he conceded that the power to appoint rested on the President, he wished Mr. Duterte would appoint men who “do not have any derogatory record or blemish in their track record.”

Aquino and his fellow LP senators, in a joint statement, said Faeldon’s appointment was a travesty of justice.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Faeldon’s new job sent “a negative message that those close to the powers-that-be are rewarded despite their corrupt ways.”

As deputy OCD chief, Faeldon was expected to handle operations, according to Romina Marasigan, OCD spokesperson.

Faeldon’s task

“He will ensure that everyone is moving when there are disasters,” said Marasigan, who is also spokesperson of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC).

Faeldon was supposed to attend yesterday’s NDRRMC meeting on preparations for weather disturbances that were projected to enter the country by yearend. But he remained in Senate detention.

While some senators accused him of corruption, Faeldon, to DND officials, was an asset.

“He is honest, dedicated and competent,” said Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Ricardo Jalad, who heads both the OCD and NDRRMC, said he “badly needs a second deputy administrator.”

“My job is so broad,” said Jalad.

Duterte’s trust

Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said Mr. Duterte, despite sacking Faeldon as BOC chief in August, continued to trust the former mutineer.

Roque, in a radio interview yesterday, said the President gave Faeldon a new job because “even if there were accusations against him, unless these are proven, the President will give him the presumption of innocence.” —With a report by Leila Salaverria