Allen Capuyan is the new presidential adviser on indigenous peoples

Retired colonel Allen Capuyan was named by President Rodrigo Duterte as his new presidential adviser for indigenous peoples’ concerns. (Photo by Bro. Jeffrey Pioquinto, SJ/Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

Retired colonel Allen Capuyan was named by President Rodrigo Duterte as his new presidential adviser for indigenous peoples’ concerns.

Capuyan will have the rank of undersecretary, according to his appointment paper signed on April 18, Wednesday, but released to media on April 23, Monday.

His appointment came after his resignation last month as Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) assistant general manager due to allegations that he received a bribe from suspected smugglers.

Capuyan, who was the chief for operations of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) under the Arroyo administration, was linked to the “Hello, Garci” wiretapping controversy.

The former ISAFP chief was identified by a witness as the one who ordered the wiretapping on some personalities during the 2004 elections.

The wiretaps involved the conversation of two people believed to be former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and then Commission on Elections (Comelec) official Virgilio Garcillano about allegedly rigging the results of the 2004 polls.

Capuyan’s name was also dragged in the P6.4 billion shabu shipment that slipped past the Bureau of Customs (BOC). He was accused by customs fixer Mark Taguba of giving him, through e-mail, tariff codes that would provide him access to the green lane or express lane, which exempts shipments from minimal inspection.

Taguba revealed that Capuyan is the “Big Brother” referred to in his text messages. The former MIAA official, however, denied having a hand in this controversy saying that he only met the accuser once.

Aside from Capuyan, the President also appointed Javey Paul Francisco as commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and judge Kevin Vivero as Sandiganbayan associate justice.

Francisco, who replaces commissioner James Viterbo, will end his term on May 20, 2021. Meanwhile, Vivero takes the place of Samuel Martires, who was Duterte’s first Supreme Court (SC) appointee.

Francisco’s appointment paper was also signed on April 18, while Vivero’s papers were already penned in November last year but were only released to media on Monday as well.