Faeldon dared to spill the beans

Former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon speaks during a news conference held at the covered court in Barangay Dolores, Palmera Hills 6, Taytay, Rizal, regarding the accusations of Senator Panfilo Lacson that he received P100 million welcome gift from smuggling syndicates.
INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Two senators are urging former Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon to spill the beans on everyone involved in smuggling, saying he should not stop at linking a senator’s son but must “go all the way” even if it meant including President Duterte’s son, Paolo.

In a statement, Sen. Leila de Lima, one of Mr. Duterte’s harshest critics, said Faeldon’s narrative about the involvement of Sen. Panfilo Lacson Jr.’s son in cement smuggling and attempted bribery were as serious as Senator Lacson’s claim that virtually the entire Bureau of Customs, led by Faeldon and involving Paolo Duterte, benefited from a payola system called “tara.”

“The revelations of Faeldon must be thoroughly investigated in the same way that Senator Lacson’s allegations against Faeldon should be the subject of an exhaustive probe,” said De Lima.

But she said Faeldon should tell all and expose individuals, especially those belonging to the so-called Davao Group, that facilitated a P6.4-billion shipment of shabu, or crystal meth, that made it past the Customs bureau and was seized later in a warehouse in Valenzuela City.

Include Paolo

“It’s about time that the investigation on smuggling also includes the presidential son, Paolo Duterte,” said De Lima, who was sent to jail by the Duterte administration allegedly for receiving money from drug operations.

“Faeldon has shown the way. If he does not really consider anybody a sacred cow, even a senator’s son, he should not stop there,” she said.

Mark Ruben Taguba II, a facilitator who helped smuggle the P6.4-billion shabu shipment, testified at the Senate on Tuesday that he gave P5 million in “enrollment fee” to a Davao City councilor allegedly close to Paolo, Davao City’s vice mayor.

Ratting on Paolo, De Lima said, would be the “true test” of Faeldon’s credibility. Otherwise, she said, Faeldon’s story about Senator Lacson’s son would “just appear to be a lame counterattack that is as selective as it is spiteful.”

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also urged Faeldon to reveal everything about corruption in the bureau and called on the Department of Justice to enroll the former commissioner in its witness protection program (WPP).

“Should Faeldon decide to cooperate by revealing what he knew of this massive corruption in Customs, it is proper that he be placed under the WPP,” he said. “Now is the time for [Faeldon] to speak up, it is time to spill the beans,” he said.

Senator Lacson on Friday said Faeldon either did not know Customs laws or lied to turn the tables on him.

In a radio interview, Lacson said his son and namesake Panfilo Jr. and his company, Bonjourno Trading,  paid for its cement shipments.