Faeldon walks into Senate detention
Carrying a bag containing clothes and other personal items, former Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner Nicanor Faeldon yesterday turned himself in to the Senate, opting to be detained rather than testify before the Blue Ribbon committee investigating allegations of smuggling and corruption at the BOC.
Wearing a white shirt print- ed with the words “Truth is Justice,” Faeldon arrived at the Senate near noon with his lawyer and went straight to the Office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms (OSSAA).
He said he sought the punishment of detention as he has no intention of testifying at the Senate hearing into the smuggling of the P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China owing to the “partiality” of some senators.
Sens. Panfilo Lacson and Antonio Trillanes IV earlier accused Faeldon of receiving huge bribes from smugglers when he headed the BOC.
Faeldon has strongly denied the allegations and dared his accusers to file charges against him in court. He also accused Lacson and his son of being engaged in smuggling of cement.
Faeldon wants a clarification on the extent of the parliamentary immunity enjoyed by lawmakers. He said he would only participate in another Senate inquiry if the Supreme Court rules that lawmakers could violate a person’s human rights.
The resigned Customs chief has been complaining about the manner of questioning of senators, which he said damages the reputation of resource persons.
“What I want to be made clear is if our laws allow a group of people, our legislators, to be above the law. Can they just violate our Bill of Rights,” he said over dzBB.
“If the SC says (that it is allowed to violate the Bill of Rights), then OK, I will go back to the hearings,” he added.
Sen. Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee, was presiding over the eighth hearing into the matter when Faeldon arrived in the premises. He left the hearing at the session hall to go downstairs to convince Faeldon to attend the hearing.
“We don’t want to have a spectacle of having him bodily carried here,” Gordon told the panel before turning over the reins of the proceedings to Sen. Paolo Benigno Aquino IV.
The meeting between Gordon and Faeldon took less than 30 minutes.
Gordon later told reporters that Faeldon was “respectful” and “humble” when he declined to attend the hearing, knowing that Lacson and Trillanes were there.
“He (Faeldon) was not defiant. He respects the Senate and he is willing to be detained here,” Gordon said, adding the BOC chief is detained “indefinitely” until the matter is resolved.
During the hearing, the committee also issued a subpoena for Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II as Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon wanted him to explain why prosecution of the drug smuggling case is proceeding at a snail’s pace.
The P6.4 billion worth of shabu was recovered in two warehouses in Valenzuela City by elements of the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service led by director Neil Estrella last May 26.
Drilon said the Department of Justice up to now has yet to file cases in court against those responsible for the shabu smuggling.
The panel also cited in contempt a certain “Jojo Bacud,” reportedly a former BOC official allegedly involved in smuggling activities.