Faeldon maintains innocence in P6.4B drug deal

FILE: The panel also recommended the filing of administrative charges of Grave Misconduct against Faeldon and BOC officials Joel Pinawin and Oliver Valiente, as well as Gross Neglect of Duty and Grave Misconduct against Tecson-Malabed and Maestrecampo. (PNA photo)

MANILA — Former Bureau of Customs head and now Office of Civil Defense (OCD) deputy administrator Nicanor Faeldon maintained that he did nothing wrong in the operation that lead to the seizure of PHP6.4 billion worth of shabu in Valenzuela in May last year.

The above-mentioned drugs have an estimated weight of 602.

2 kilograms

“I have done nothing wrong, hinuli ko ‘yan e so dapat magpasalamat kayo sakin (kundi) nasa kalsada dapat yan kundi ko nahuli,” he said Wednesday.

He added that the people behind the operation should be commended as they have received the information at that time about the illegal drugs, with an estimated weight of 602.2 kilograms, by 10:30 a.m. and managed to seize it within three and half hours.

The Ombudsman’s Special Panel of Fact-Finding Investigators recommended the filing of criminal charges for violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019) against Faeldon, Import Assessment Service (IAS) Director Milo Maestrecampo, Risk Management Office (RMO) Chief Larribert Hilario and Accounts Management Office (AMO) Chief Mary Grace Tecson-Malabed.

The panel also recommended the filing of administrative charges of Grave Misconduct against Faeldon and BOC officials Joel Pinawin and Oliver Valiente, as well as Gross Neglect of Duty and Grave Misconduct against Tecson-Malabed and Maestrecampo.

The panel also recommended the filing of additional charges of Usurpation of Official Functions (Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code), violation of Section 32 of the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002 (Republic Act No. 9165) against Faeldon, and violation of Section 3(a) of Republic Act No. 3019 against Faeldon and BOC Director Neil Anthony Estrella.

On May 26, 2017, joint operatives from the BOC-Customs Intelligence and Investigative Services, the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency conducted a raid on a warehouse owned by the Philippine Hongfei Logistics Group of Companies, Inc. in Valenzuela City.

The raid involved the controlled delivery of a shipment declared to contain printing cylinders.