Senate lets Faeldon attend oath-taking at OCD

Former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon has been allowed for the second time this month to leave his detention at the Senate, this time to attend his oath taking as deputy administrator III at the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).

Photos posted on Twitter by Faeldon’s legal team showed him taking his oath before Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana.

Senate Sergeant-At-Arms Jose V. Balajadia Jr. said Faeldon left the Senate this Tuesday morning to attend the oath taking and he was expected to return to his detention after the ceremony.

“Balikan din,” Balajadia said over the phone, adding that the release order did not contain specific hours as he was expected to be back anyway immediately after the event.

He said Faeldon’s temporary release was upon the order of Senator Richard Gordon as chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Last Friday, the Senate panel also granted the former Bureau of Customs (BOC) head a humanitarian furlough to attend to his wife, who gave birth to their youngest child.

Balajadia said Faeldon returned Sunday morning and the committee again granted his request to attend the oath taking on Monday.

Faeldon has been detained in the Senate for his repeated refusal to participate in the committee’s investigation on the P6.4-billion drug shipment controversy while he was at the helm of the BOC.

READ: Faeldon turns himself in to Senate
/kga