Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon has denied that a request he sent to former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon in connection with a project in Iloilo was “illegal.”
“There is nothing illegal,” Drilon told reporters on Monday. “The MoA [memorandum of agreement] is to allow the National Historical Commission to do the repairs of the building.”
Faeldon earlier accused Drilon of making an “illegal” request in 2016 when the senator asked him to sign a memorandum of agreement with the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) for the renovation of a Customs building in Iloilo and its conversion into a museum.
“In fact, the building is not even owned by the BoC,” Drilon said. “It’s not owned by the BoC. The title is in the name of the Republic of the Philippines. They are just there by tolerance of the government.”
Faeldon said they met twice about the MoA, but he only signed it on their third meeting after he “forcibly changed” some of its provisions.
READ: Faeldon claims 2 senators made ‘illegal requests’
Drilon, for his part, explained that the NHCP sought his help on the project, which he said aimed to restore historical sites in the province.
No BoC employees, he said, were driven out of the building after the renovation.
Asked what he planned to do after Faeldon’s allegation, Drilon said: “Hayaan mo siya.” /atm
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