(Eagle News) — Several senators on Wednesday slammed the appointment of former Customs Chief Nicanor Faeldon to a new government post.
In a statement, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV alleged Faeldon “knows the dark secrets of the Duterte family that’s why even if he is grossly incompetent, he remains a sacred cow.”
Although he did not provide specifics, Trillanes has already accused President Rodrigo Duterte’s son, Paolo Duterte, and his son-in-law Mans Carpio of being part of the so-called Davao group.
The group is allegedly a player in what many say is the corrupt system in place in the Bureau of Customs.
Both have vehemently denied the allegations.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, for his part, said that while the statement that Faeldon “has the goods on the president or any of his close relatives in regard to the payola system involving the Davao group” was “speculative,” “rightly or wrongly, one cannot help but think that the President’s open display of his unequivocal support and trust on Faeldon has something to with that ugly issue.”
“Nakapagtataka talaga,” the senator, who also accused Faeldon of receiving a P100-million “gift” when he took the helm of the Bureau of Customs, said.
“Ang masasabi ko lang ang tiwala ng isang tao sa iba ay base sa kaniyang sariling pananaw at paniniwala. It also says a lot about a person’s judgement of character and the character of the person giving his full trust on another,” Lacson said.
Faeldon’s appointment as deputy administrator of the Department of National Defense’s Office of Civil Defense was contained in a December 22 letter by the President.
Faeldon is currently detained in the Senate for his refusal to attend subsequent hearings on corruption in the BoC and on the P6.4-billion drug shipment that entered the country via Customs express lanes in May.
He resigned as BoC chief amid the controversies hounding him.
