THE Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) has sought the indictment of former Customs Commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon and 11 others for violation of the Republic Act (RA) 9165, or Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act, in connection with the entry into the country of P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment in May.
In a 23-page complaint filed before the Department of Justice (DOJ), PDEA accused Faeldon and 11 other Customs officials of conspiring to import illegal drugs and coddling drug traffickers, which is punishable under RA 9165.
The PDEA also asked the DOJ to prosecute Faeldon and his co-respondents for obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829, by “harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape” of the persons behind the illegal shipment.
The complaint named 11 other respondents in the charge sheet, namely, Customs Directors Milo Maestrecampo and Neil Anthony Estrella; intelligence officers Joel Pinawin and Oliver Valiente; Manila International Container Port District collector lawyer Vincent Phillip Maronilla; lawyer Jeline Maree Magsuci; and Customs employees Alexandra Ventura, Randolph Cabansag, Dennis Maniego, Dennis Cabildo and John Edillor.
The complaint filed by the PDEA is separate from the complaint for drug smuggling filed by the National Bureau of Investigation against the importers and brokers of the shipment, which is already undergoing preliminary investigation before the DOJ.
Aside from these, graft charges were also filed against Faeldon and the other Bureau of Customs (BOC) officials under Section 3 of RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) for allegedly “causing any undue injury to any party, including the government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”
The PDEA also charged Faeldon and other respondents with negligence and tolerance under Article 208 of the Revised Penal Code.
“The said incompetence and corruption effectively shielded and facilitated the escape of Chen Ju Long and prevented his immediate arrest and prospective prosecution for the importation of the 602.279 kilograms of methamphetamine hydrochloride, or shabu,” the complaint read.
“As can be culled from the proceeding discussion, the gross inexcusable negligence, manifest partiality, or bad faith of Faeldon, Maestrecampo, Estrella, Pinawin, Valiente, Maronilla, Ventura, Cabansag, Maniego, Cabildo and Edillor made possible the importation of 602.279 kilograms of shabu and the evasion of Chen Ju Long from being arrested and prosecuted,” it added.
In the same complaint, the PDEA also sought the indictment for illegal- drugs importation under RA 9165 of the alleged importers and facilitators of the shabu shipment identified as Chen Ju Long, Chen Rong Juan, Manny Li, Kenneth Dong, Mark Taguba II, Teejay Marcellana, Eirene May Tatad, Emily Dee, Chen I-Min and Jhu Ming Jyun.
Also included in the charge sheet the directors and officers of Hong Fei Logistics Inc., the warehouse where the shabu shipment was seized—Genelita Arayan, Dennis Nocom, Zhang Hong, Rene Palle, Richard Rebistual and Mary Rose de la Cruz.
Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson Sr., meanwhile, wished Faeldon “good luck” after the former Customs commissioner had filed an ethics complaint against him, after the two traded barbs triggered by Lacson’s exposé of alleged rampant irregularities at the BOC.
“Good luck to him,” Lacson said on Monday upon learning about Faeldon’s filing of the complaint before the Ethics Committee. “As I said: That’s his right.”
But Lacson confirmed he is also filing a graft case against Faeldon before the Office of the Ombudsman.
With Butch Fernandez