Blue Ribbon to decide Faeldon’s fate – Gordon

SEN. Richard Gordon on Friday said he cannot decide alone on a requested “furlough” of detained former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon since the blue ribbon committee is a collegial body.

Gordon, chairman of the Senate blue ribbon committee, justified his decision to turn down Faeldon’s request to attend Mass and join the Black Nazarene traslacion on January 9, take oath of office before Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana after being named deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense ( OCD) and attend family celebrations.

“An important reason why his request for a furlough could not be granted is [that Faeldon] is held for [his] contempt of the committee and thus of the Senate. The citation for contempt was, and still is, a collegial act which the [ chairman], on his own, cannot reverse,” he said in a statement.

Faeldon issued a statement to the media on Thursday, denouncing Gordon for being “cruel” after he denied his request to temporarily leave his detention room to attend to some personal matters, including seeing his newborn child.

The former Marine captain was detained on September 12, 2017, after the Senate cited him in contempt for refusing to cooperate with investigation of reported corruption at the Bureau of Customs (BoC) that led to the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China.

Faeldon said Gordon turned down his request “upon the orders of the cement-smuggler senator, who vowed vengeance against me for exposing his and his son’s cement-smuggling racket” refer

“I thought that Sen. Gordon was man enough to stand up to the cement- smuggler senator. I was wrong again. While I totally expected extreme cruelty from the likes of Lacson and [ Sen. Antonio] Trillanes [ 4th], I never expected that from Sen. Gordon. What happened to you, Sen. Gordon?” he asked.

Faeldon filed separate ethics complaints against Lacson and Trillanes on September 18, 2017, and September 25, 2017, respectively, for linking him to alleged corruption and smuggling at the BoC.

Lacson on September 28, 2017, charges against Faeldon.

In reply to Faeldon’s allegation, he said, “No wonder Faeldon is in big trouble facing a non-bailable case of agricultural smuggling. He doesn’t have a clue about the customs and tariff code and the CMTA ( Customs Modernization and Tariff Act).”

“Why? There can’t be smuggling of cement simply because it is not subject to tariff. For quite a long time that he served as commissioner, he dedicated most of, if not all, his time counting tara [ bribe] instead of learning the Customs Code,” Lacson said in a text message.

“Capt. Faeldon in one letter dated this year wrote to the chairman seeking permission to hear Mass and have a check-up with his cardiologist supposedly in preparation for his attendance in the Black Nazarene’s traslacion ,” Gordon said.

The senator said Faeldon also sought permission to travel to the Department of National Defense headquarters in Quezon City to meet with Defense Secretary recent appointment as assistant secretary at the OCD.

He even requested permission to leave without being accompa of the Sergeant-at-Arms (OSAA), Gordon said.

“That request was not granted because one, his release without the company of the OSAA would have meant that he was being released from custody, without his having cleansed himself of his contumacious conduct, the very reason why he is detained,” he added.