Faeldon strikes back
Outgoing Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon on Thursday fired back at Senator Panfilo Lacson, who had earlier accused him of receiving a 1100-million “Welcome Pasalubong,” by linking the senator’s son into the smuggle of billions of pesos worth of cement into the country.
Showing documents as he spoke before the members of the media in his neighborhood in Taytay, Rizal, Faeldon revealed that Panfilo “Pampi” Lacson Jr. has already brought 67 shipments of cement into the country during his one-year stay in the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
The outgoing Customs chief disclosed that through Bonjourno Trading, which was registered as a computer trading a sole proprietor business, Pampi has already shipped a total of 19,795,775 bags of cement worth 14,651,883,750 from June, 2016, to present.
Faeldon questioned how the company with only 120,000 capital would be able to import billions of pesos worth of cement.
According to Faeldon, he discovered the suspicious activity during his first days as the Customs commissioner.
Faeldon said that alert orders were issued over the shipments on July 12, 13, 15, and October 10 last year due to undervaluation of freight by more than 50 percent.
The document presented by Faeldon showed that the first alert happened in July 12 over the entry of a shipload of 150, 000 bags of cement through the Port of Iloilo. The next day, July 13, another shipload of 130, 050 bags of cement were placed under alert in Port of Dadiangas. Two days later, an alert order was again issued over a shipload of cement at the same port.
On Oct. 10, 2016, an undervalued shipment was put on hold at the Port of Legazpi. All shipments were under the Bonjourno Trading.
Faeldon said it was only recently that he discovered that there were 63 more shipments carried out by the Bonjourno Trading, which was supposedly into computer trading.
And as they dug deeper, Faeldon said they learned that Pampi was the managing director of the company, who he had visited his office few times before purportedly to “pay the dues,” which according to Faeldon is a clear attempt to bribe him. But Faeldon said Pampi never got to meet him.
“Alam naman ni Mr. Lacson (Pampi) na walang kahera doon bakit siya nagdala ng pera doon at sasabihin sa staff ko na doon siya magbabayad. (Mr. Lacson knows that we have no cashier in my office, so why would he bring money there and tell my staff that he’ll just pay there). Is he trying to bribe my staff? I gave the senator the benefit of the doubt. Baka hindi niya alam ang ginagawa ng anak niya. But yesterday (August 23) he seems to know everything about the Bureau of Customs,” Faeldon said.
Lacson dares Faeldon But Sen. Lacson defiantly shot back at Faeldon and dared him to answer why he did not file any criminal charges against his son if he knew firsthand he was into smuggling.
“First, I have nothing to do with my son’s business activities; second, there is no smuggling of cement as it is not subject to Customs tariff and duties but only subject to VAT (value-added tax), which my son said when I checked with him just now, they always pay,” Sen. Lacson told reporters in an interview.
“Third, he (Faeldon) should have filed charges against my son if he now says, he’s into smuggling,” the senator pointed out.
Lacson said it doesn’t also make sense that I will expose the shenanigans in the BOC if his son is cheating on taxes as Faeldon is now accusing him of.
“The logical thing for me to do is not to make the exposé and just keep quiet. For the record, I have always reminded my son to be on the level in whatever business dealings he would have because if not, I’ll be the first one to castigate him and even initiate the filing of charges against him,” Lacson said.
Motive behind allegations Faeldon questioned Lacson’s motive in accusing him and other Customs official of receiving “tara.”
“Bakit mo sinira yung mga reputasyon ng mga tao na parehas natin kilala, ano bang motive mo, Sir Lacson (Why are you destroying the reputation of these people that we both know, what is your motive, Sir Lacson)?” Faeldon asked.
“Let us talk about Lacson,” he later declared contrary to the anticipation that he will talk about the “tara” and 11million “Welcome Pasalubong” issue.
“Tanungin kita, player ka ba? 120,000 lang ang capital ng anak mo. Ito ang kinakatakutan mo, Sir (I ask you, are you a player? Your son has only 120, 000 capital. What are you afraid of, Sir), because we are now getting closer on getting you, on exposing you,” Faeldon continued.
Based on the four alert orders, Faeldon said the senator’s son “consistently want to pay only 50 percent dues and giving fake documents.”
“Kung hindi magtugma ‘yan, smuggler po kayo unless sabihin mo sa’kin na hindi mo alam ang ginagawa ng anak mo (If that does not match, you’re a smuggler unless you tell me that you know nothing about your son’s business),” Faeldon said, referring to the value of the shipment cement and the taxes paid.
Faeldon continued to air his laments by accusing the senator of using him and his team for publicity.
“Why did you come up with that? Gusto mong tumakbo bilang presidente? Gusto mong magpasikat (Do you want to run for president? Do you want publicity) in the expense of my family? Nagtatago ka sa [partliamentary] immunity mo (You’re hiding behind your immunity)? Gusto mong tumakbo (You want to run) by destroying me?”
Top cement smuggler Faeldon revealed that according to the Cement Manufacturers Association of the Philippines, Bonjourno Trading is the number one cement smuggler in the country.
“I have documents. This is not just gossip. According to the cement manufacturers in the Philippines, Bounjourno is the number one cement smuggler in the country,” he said.
“Now, Sen. Lacson has the responsibility to investigate this as it is no longer in my hands. I also challenge the new commissioner to reveal all these,” he added.
He further said that Lacson’s case is just a small piece of the puzzle as he bared that there are other higher officials involved in smuggling.
“I can name all of them but I’m not irresponsible. I do not want to destroy the reputation of innocent people para magpasikat lang (just for publicity). But they want us out. They want us all out because they are afraid of me,” Faeldon said.
He, however, vowed to come up with the list of other government officials involved in smuggling with the pieces of evidence.
No 1100-million ‘welcome gift’ Faeldon also denied the 1100-million “Welcome Pasalubong,” but revealing that before assuming office he was offered with a sort of bribe.
“There was one attempt to bribe me with 1300,000 weekly by an importer but it was not the direct importer who went to me but a third person, I did not accept it,” he said. He said it was offered to him through “random text.”
Faeldon also expressed willingness to sign a waiver for his bank accounts to prove that he is not corrupt.
Meanwhile, Sen. Lacson’s colleagues in the Senate also questioned the timing of Faeldon’s allegations.
“Eh bakit hindi nila kinilusan yan agad? Bakit ngayon lang bibira pagka tapos siyang birahin ni Sen. Lacson? (Why didn’t he take any immediate action on that? Why did he have to castigate him just after Sen. Lacson exposed him?)” Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III asked.
“We have to make sure that this is not pang-lihis lang ng isyu (something to divert the issue),” Pimentel said.
Pimentel said Faeldon should state everything he knows about everyone involved in suspicious activities in Customs and not only concentrate his return fire on the person who exposed the tara system in BOC.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, likewise, said he cannot understand why he would come up with such allegations just hours of Lacson’s disclosure.
“Bakit ngayon lang, 24 hours after Sen. Lacson’s exposè? An act of desperation on the part of Faeldon,” Drilon said.
“I have full faith in the uprightness of Sen. Lacson and his family. Without any evidence other than Faeldon’s allegation, I will oppose any investigation. It will be a waste of time and will simply be used as a venue for character assassination,” Drilon pointed out.
Lacson vowed to face the issue “head on” and rejected citing apology.
“What will I apologize for? I don’t want to anymore patulan ang kanyang patutsada. Ang sinasabi ko lang kaya ako nasa harap ninyo ngayon because my name has been dragged,” Lacson said.
“Not even my son kasi kung anak ko lang ang sinabi niya bahala sila magsagutan, but sinabi niya ininsinuate niya may kinalaman ako. And I’m telling you on my parents’ graves, ang tulong ko lang ginawa sa kanya, nag-xerox ako ng PS mark nang inapprove ng DTI ang quality standard,” he stressed.
“I will avoid this sidetracking of issues. I will confront this issue headon either way. Both sides,” Lacson emphasized.
Lacson also said his son denied Faeldon’s allegations he delivered money to the commissioner’s office.
“I asked my son on the assertion of Faeldon that he was delivering money to the commissioner’s office. He said, he has not done so at any time, he has not met Faeldon,” the senator said.
“He has absolutely no reason to bribe Faeldon or the Customs Bureau, that’s a big, big lie, he said,” Lacson said further quoting his son.