Faces of the news: Faeldon, Gambala, Maestrecampo

Illustration by RENE ELEVERA

Having put the 2003 Oakwood mutiny behind them, former military officers Nicanor Faeldon, Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo have quietly gone back to government by working at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

A year into their job, they’re now in the eye of the storm again. But unlike during the 2003 mutiny, when they were the accusers, this time they’re on the dock for their failure to foil a multibillion-peso drug smuggling. (Quite ironic because they mutinied on July 27, 2003, to rail against military corruption.)

Congress is now inquiring into the BOC’s failure to inspect a P6.4-billion ($126 million) shipment of crystal meth from China that passed through Customs and was later seized from a Valenzuela City warehouse.

Senators said the hasty release of the contraband disguised as kitchenware pointed to the complicity of some Customs personnel in the drug trade.

While he failed to answer some questions, Faeldon, now Customs commissioner, took full responsibility for the shipment.

Customs Deputy Commissioner Gerardo Gambala blamed Customs risk management officer Larribert Hilario for failing to flag the shipment as high risk.

Faeldon forthwith suspended Hilario. When he testified at the House of Representatives, Hilario, however, laid the blame on Import Assessment Service director Milo Maestrecampo. Hilario said Maestrecampo did not act on his request for alert on the shipment.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency officials rebuked Customs officials for allowing everyone to take “selfies” with the drugs, and contaminate the evidence.

This has prompted Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, chair of the investigating House committee on dangerous drugs, to ask for Faeldon’s head.

But the former Army captain stood his ground, saying he was out on a mission, but left his fate to President Rodrigo Duterte.

The next day, Faeldon lashed out at the lawmakers and other government officials, accusing them of contributing to the culture of corruption in the agency. He said they were trying to influence the appointment of Customs’ personnel.

“My God! Shame on you! Stop it. Stop it because it doesn’t do anything good to this country,” he said.

After a meeting in Malacañang, Mr. Duterte expressed trust in Faeldon, but said that he’d decide on the commissioner’s fate after the conclusion of the inquiries.

The three ex-officers were amnestied seven years after the mutiny. Can they extricate themselves again unscathed?