Lacson on son: I’d file raps if he’s guilty
His son and namesake has denied involvement in cement smuggling as alleged by Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon, and Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he is taking his word for it.
In a hastily called press briefing at his office yesterday, the senator said he confronted his son about Faeldon’s allegations, which the younger Lacson vehemently denied.
Before facing the media, Lacson said he talked to his son over the phone and asked him directly if he and his business partners were involved in any shenanigans.
“Sabi niya wala daddy (He said there is nothing). OK, fine,” Lacson said.
He said that even before he delivered his privilege speech last Wednesday about corruption in the BOC, in which he claimed that Faeldon received P100 million as pasalubong or welcome gift, Lacson said he had informed his son about his exposé and asked if there was anything that the senator should know about his business.
“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. He has absolutely no reason to bribe Faeldon or the Customs bureau. That’s a big lie, he said,” the senator told reporters.
Lacson said that he would not tolerate any form of wrongdoing, even if it involves his own kin and that he would be the first to castigate and investigate them if they commit a crime.
“If my son is really guilty and involved in smuggling, I don’t have to wait for him (Faeldon) because I would personally file a case against him,” Lacson said in Filipino.
“I made it very clear to him that if you do something wrong on the level of your business dealings, I will castigate you. I’ll can you and even initiate filing of charges against you,” he added.
The senator said he knew very little about his son’s business – including its name – but was aware he has Chinese partners.
He stressed he has never tried to use his influence to help his son in his undertakings and that the only assistance he ever gave him with his business was to photocopy the product standard or PS marks from the Department of Trade and Industry because he does not have a copying machine.
“He’s (Panfilo Jr.) no dummy of mine. I don’t interfere in his business. If he’s really doing well, it would not have taken two years to finish his house,” Lacson said.
He challenged anyone familiar with Customs tariffs to double-check if Faeldon’s computations were correct.
Lacson said Faeldon’s argument that he was motivated to come out with the allegations of corruption against the BOC to cover up for the alleged smuggling activities of his son was illogical.
If the allegations against his son were true and he wanted to protect him, Lacson said he should have just kept his mouth shut and get on Faeldon’s good side.
In the first place, Lacson said no smuggling could have taken place as cement is not subject to tariffs and duties.
After he delivered his privilege speech, Lacson said Faeldon sent him a message expressing his highest respect for the senator as well as his hopes that a competent body would investigate his exposé for the good of the country.
Lacson said that he sent a message to Faeldon telling him that they should talk.
He said that he had wanted to get more information from Faeldon, whom he thought would have the compunction to tell him everything about irregularities in the BOC.
Faeldon’s plaint
Lacson said Faeldon texted him yesterday morning asking him why he was destroying people who were not corrupt.
The senator said he could not understand what Faeldon was trying to drive at so he did not reply.
If Faeldon had information about his son way back as he had claimed, then Lacson said the former BOC chief should have filed a case against him right away or called his attention to it.
Lacson said that he was willing to face grilling on the issue even during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee’s inquiry into the smuggling of shabu from China.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III questioned the timing of Faeldon’s exposé about Lacson, which came only after the latter came out with his claims against him and the BOC in general.
“We have to make sure that this is not meant to divert the issue and Faeldon should state everything he knows about everyone involved in suspicious activities in Customs,” he said.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said that it was “an act of desperation on the part of Faeldon” to come out with those claims against Lacson less than 24 hours after his exposé.
“I have full faith in the uprightness of Senator 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 said.
Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III said that Faeldon’s claims, if true, could be more of a valuation issue and not smuggling.
He said that it was obvious that Faeldon’s move was a diversionary tactic in response to the exposé of Lacson.
“Maybe he believes that the best defense is offense. That only applies to basketball,” Sotto said.
Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the Blue Ribbon committee, said that Faeldon should have made his claims against Lacson early on and not after he was put in a bad light after the senator’s privilege speech.
He recalled how Faeldon was present during the Blue Ribbon committee hearings but did not say anything about the alleged illegal activities of Lacson’s son.
If Faeldon’s case were against Lacson, then Gordon said that this could better be handled by the ethics committee. But if it is about his son, then it could be taken up by the Blue Ribbon.
He said that Faeldon should present evidence to support his claims first, including an affidavit.
In his privilege speech, Lacson said that almost all of the officials and personnel of the BOC were on the take, including Faeldon when he was still at the helm.
In a radio interview yesterday, Lacson said that Faeldon brought in around 200 of his former colleagues from the Magdalo group to the BOC.
Based on unverified information, Lacson said that there was a room within the BOC where only Faeldon and his former military colleagues could enter. What exactly they were doing inside was a mystery, Lacson said.
Just tell all
Drilon said what Faeldon should do is to come out and reveal everything he knows about corruption in the agency he used to lead.
“Now is the time for former commissioner Faeldon to speak up. It is time to spill the beans. The people behind this massive corruption in the Customs have already been exposed. Commissioner Faeldon is the most qualified person to corroborate these claims of corruption under his watch,” Drilon said.
He admitted he was shocked by the revelations of Lacson, and said they “should give Congress more resolve to address the top-down corruption in the agency.”
“It’s a shocking, disheartening revelation, but it behooves Congress to act swiftly to solve this issue of corruption in the bureau once and for all,” Drilon said.
To encourage Faeldon to cooperate, Drilon said that he could be placed under the witness protection program (WPP) of the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Should Faeldon decide to cooperate by revealing what he knew of this massive corruption in the customs, it is proper that he be placed under the WPP,” Drilon said.
Now that so much information has come out during the Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing and through the revelations made by Lacson, Drilon said that DOJ should “seriously consider” launching its own investigation into the matter.
Meanwhile, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said the BOC brouhaha has cast doubt on the Duterte administration’s commitment to fight corruption.
“It does not help him that his son is also being implicated as part of the Davao Group that is receiving millions in payoffs in exchange for special privileges at the bureau. Malacañang has dismissed or downplayed allegations linking Paolo Duterte to smuggling. This cover-up will only further discredit Duterte’s anti-corruption stand,” said Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes.