INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/ Grig C. Montegrande
Former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon, who has been detained in the Senate since September, accused Sen. Richard Gordon of imposing on him “cruel, degrading, and (in)human punishment,” saying the senator had barred him from visiting his family during the holidays, prevented him from seeing his doctor, and stopped him from observing religious practices.
In a statement on Friday, Faeldon also bemoaned Gordon’s disapproval of his request for a four-hour furlough so he could take his oath as deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense before Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana at the latter’s office.
Faeldon said the chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee had also deprived him of his right to be present at the birth of his youngest child.
The senator, Faeldon claimed, had also warned that his visitation rights as well as the utilities in his detention room would be cut off should he come out with his statement.
He dared the lawmaker to “go ahead, Senator Gordon, kick me and punish me some more, if that makes you a bigger man.”
P6.4-billion ‘shabu’ shipment
In September last year, the Senate ordered Faeldon detained following his refusal to attend the Senate hearing on the P6.4-billion “shabu” (crystal meth) shipment from China that slipped through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in May.
Customs fixer Mark Taguba had linked the so-called Davao Group, including President Duterte’s son, resigned Davao City vice mayor Paolo, to the smuggling.
Gordon on Friday said the Senate turned down Faeldon’s request to leave detention without being escorted by members of the Office of the Sergeant at Arms (OSAA) because the latter’s citation for contempt was still in effect. The citation was a collegial act that he cannot reverse on his own, he added.
“His release without the company of the OSAA would have meant that he was being released from custody, without his having cleansed himself of his contumacious conduct, the very reason he (was) detained,” Gordon said.
He also said a constitutional crisis between the legislative and executive branches was probable had Faeldon’s request been granted.
“Captain Faeldon had been appointed to a position in the executive department. If he (were) allowed to go out and take his oath, nothing can prevent him from hiding behind his appointment and then saying, you cannot detain me anymore as I am now assistant secretary,” Gordon said.
Security reason
Faeldon’s previous requests, which included celebrating his father’s birthday and other family events with relatives, had been accommodated because these were held within Senate premises, thus ensuring his security, the senator added.
For the same security reason, Faeldon’s request to join the Black Nazarene procession on Jan. 9 was turned down, Gordon said. Instead, the senator said, he had suggested that the latter could attend the noontime Mass held at the Senate from Monday to Thursday.
He had also proposed that Faeldon take his oath within the Senate premises where his safety was guaranteed, Gordon said.
“How could Senator Gordon justify my continuing detention, much less his cruelty?” asked Faeldon. “I faced the false charges against me, with nothing else than the truth and my clean conscience. I won (my case) at the Department of Justice. I won again at the Ombudsman.”
“I have been reliably informed that Senator Gordon did all of the above upon the orders of the cement-smuggler senator, who (had) vowed vengeance against me for exposing his and his son’s cement smuggling racket,” the former BOC chief said.
While he did not identify the senator in his statement, Faeldon had accused Sen. Panfilo Lacson and his son of smuggling cement last August.