Liberal Party (LP) Senators on Thursday called President Rodrigo Duterte’s appointment of former Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioners Nicanor Faeldon as the new deputy administrator of Office of Civil Defense (OCD) a “loss of justice.”
Senators Francis Pangilinan, Bam Aquino, and Franklin Drilon said that the President should have appointed someone who has an unquestionable integrity.
Faeldon has been hurled with accusations over his alleged involvement in the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China to the Philippines at the Bureau of Custom (BOC) last May.
Pangilinan said that the people of the country needs honest public servants in government service.
“While we respect the President’s prerogative to appoint personalities to positions he deems fit, he must avoid appointing those with questionable integrity and moreso those linked to corruption scandals. The Filipino people need honest men in government service,” he said.
Meanwhile, Aquino said that Faeldon is not yet absolved from his alledged involvement in drug smuggling as the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) recently said that they are set to file an automatic motion for reconsideration that will appeal to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the dismissal of its decision clearing the former commission.
The anti-drug law enforcement agency refuted the resolution of the DOJ which stated that the “evidence adduced by the PDEA in support of the charges were insufficient to establish probable case.”
[READ: PDEA to appeal Faeldon absolution to DOJ]
Aquino said that the President should have waited Faeldon to be completely clear of charges before he appointed him.
“Ibinasura man ng Department of Justice ang kaso laban kay Faeldon, subalit naghain na ng apela ang mga karampatang ahensiya tulad ng PDEA kaya dapat pinatapos muna ito ng Pangulo [While the DOJ may have junked the case against Faeldon, relevant government agencies like PDEA have filed an appeal and the President should have waited for the process to be completed],” said Aquino.
Meanwhile, Drilon recalled Duterte’s decision to appoint other former Customs officials who are involved in drug smuggling to other positions.
Customs collector Vincent Philip Maronilla was recently reassigned as district collector at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), while former Customs officials Gerardo Gambala and Milo Maestrecampo were appointed to the Department of Transportation.