MANILA, Philippines — Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon on Monday claimed that he received “illegal requests” from Senator Franklin Drilon and Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto when he was still in position.
During the continuation of the Senate hearing on supposed corruption at the BOC, Faeldon said, however, that he denied the requests Drilon and Sotto.
“I’m sorry. I would like to apologize for the following Senators dahil wala po kayo dito [because they were not here]. I’m apologizing to you because I did not approve their request. And these are their requests: As far I am concerned, it is illegal,” Faeldon said.
“I start with Senator Drilon. As early as 2016, he has requested me to meet with him here at the Senate twice and asked me to sign a memorandum of agreement (MOA) between the BOC and the office of the chairperson, Maria Serena Diokno, the chairperson of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP),” he added.
The former customs chief said that on the said MOA, the NHCP in Iloilo was planned to be renovated into a museum, leaving only the third floor as the office of the BOC.
Faeldon clarified that the refused to sign the agreement, recalling their supposed experience in their BOC office in Cebu where employees were housed in a “condemned building.”
“He (Drilon) insisted that I will be signing that MOA twice I attended his meeting and said: Sir, it is not allowed,” he said.
For Sotto, Faeldon added that the senator asked him to appoint an official in the BOC.
He also named the official as senior intelligence officer Eric Albano.
“Twice, personally here, he asked me to appoint one official of the Bureau of Customs as the director of intelligence,” Faeldon said.
However, Sen. Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said he doesn’t see any anomalies in the requests of the senators.