THE Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday that it is ready to issue a lookout bulletin order (LBO) to prevent the possible flight of former Customs commissioner Nicanor E. Faeldon and other former officials of the Bureau of Customs (BOC) who are facing drug charges before the agency in connection with the smuggling of a P6.4 billion worth of shabu shipment seized in May.
Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said the LBO will be issued to make sure Faeldon and the other respondents in the criminal charges filed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) before the DOJ would not evade criminal proceedings.
“Since the preliminary investigation is already ongoing, we will issue the LBO if the cases would be filed in court,” the DOJ chief said in an interview.
An LBO will not automatically prevent the subjects from leaving the country, unlike a hold departure order (HDO) issued by trial courts, but it will require them to ask permission first from the DOJ before they could be allowed to leave the country.
Should the DOJ find probable cause in the string of charges against the former BOC officials and file the case in court, Aguirre said prosecutors could then ask for issuance of the HDO.
Aguirre issued the statement following the earlier warning of former Customs Investigation and Intelligence Service (CIIS) chief Neil Anthony Estrella, one of the respondents in the complaint, that they would not allow themselves to be jailed over the baseless charges and would rather go into hiding.
Estrella, also a former member of Magdalo Group, however, clarified on Wednesday that they would not go into hiding and vowed to face the charges even in case they would be filed in court.
“We have strong faith in our justice system and our government institutions involved in the administration of justice. We are confident that we will be cleared after the DOJ sifts through the faulty complaint filed by the PDEA. We will not go into hiding, we will face our accusers in court if need be,” Estrella said.
Estrella added his statement last week came from his deep emotional anguish for his men and himself, whose only involvement in the shabu-smuggling case was to have successfully interdicted and seized all the shabu following a tip from the China customs-intelligence service.
The CIIS coordinated with the PDEA and the National Bureau of Investigation in the seizure of the shabu and the arrest and identification of the personalities involved in the thwarted smuggle attempt.
“We don’t have any knowledge how that shipment slipped into the country or how it was placed on the green lane where there is no need for inspection. The PDEA was part of the operation, they gave us a certificate of coordination that we are operating under them. The entire shabu shipment was seized, we preserved the chain of evidence and those involved were apprehended. So, why are those who were responsible for the seizure of the shipment and apprehension of the suspects now facing charges?” Estrella asked.
In a 23-page complaint filed on September 18, the PDEA sought the indictment of Faeldon, Estrella and 10 other BOC officials for conspiracy to import illegal drugs and protecting or coddling of drug traffickers under Republic Act (RA) 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act).
The PDEA also accused Faeldon and the other BOC officers of obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829 by “harboring or concealing, or facilitating the escape” of the persons behind the shabu shipment.
Faeldon and other respondents were also accused of negligence and tolerance under Article 208 of the Revised Penal Code.
The PDEA also filed charges of corrupt practices of public officers 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, etvident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence.”
The other respondents in the charge sheet are former import- assessment services director Milo Maestrecampo; intelligence officers Joel Pinawin and Oliver Valiente; Manila International Container Port district collector lawyer Vincent Phillip Maronilla; Faeldon’s fianćee, lawyer Jeline Maree Magsuci; and BOC employees Alexandra Ventura, Randolph Cabansag, Dennis Maniego, Dennis Cabildo and John Edillor.