The House Committee on Dangerous Drugs is now studying the possibility of filing criminal charges with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment against Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon, after 604 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu, valued at P6.4 billion, allegedly breezed through undetected in the express lane of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).
In an interview, Party-list Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, the panel chairman, said his committee will release its report on its investigation on the alleged drug smuggling on Thursday.
“Aside from gross negligence and incompetence, the committee is now studying the possible recommendation to prosecute Commissioner Faeldon and others for their apparent disregard of the strict provisions of the law [Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002] on the chain in the custody of drug evidence,” Barbers said.
According to Barbers, the committee is now looking into the accountability of Faeldon and other BOC officials for “raiding the Valenzuela warehouse without a proper [search] warrant”.
The House of Representatives and the Senate are conducting separate investigations on the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment, which was coursed through the green lane of the BOC without inspection. The 604 kilograms of shabu were shipped from Xiamen in China.
Earlier, House Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez said Faeldon should resign from his post “to spare President Duterte from further embarrassment”.
In the hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee on August 7, broker Mark Taguba named several customs officials who allegedly received bribes.
Among those who were named by Taguba were Customs Intelligence chief Neil Estrella; Milo Maestrecampo, director of the BOC Import and Assessment Service; Deputy Commissioner Teddy Raval; District Collector Vincent Philip Maronilla; and a certain “Teddy Sagaran”. They all denied Taguba’s accusation.
Taguba also named a certain “Jason” and “Maita” from the Formal Entry Division of the bureau, a “Major Gutierrez”, whom the witness said is already deceased; a “Jojo”, a “Jake”, a “Sandra” and an “Alfred”.