Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers doesn’t believe the athletes hired by the Bureau of Customs are doing intelligence work.
“So, they were hired as technical assistants and intel officers, but it’s only to play for the Bureau,” Barbers said Saturday in a forum in Quezon City. “On that point, we’re going to examine what’s in it [for the BOC], because we [congressmen] don’t agree with that kind of procedure inside the Bureau.”
Barbers chairs the House committee on dangerous drugs, which has launched an inquiry into the seized P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China that Customs agents seized in Valenzuela City last May.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon earlier justified the Bureau’s hiring of former professional basketball and volleyball players, saying it was part of a “well-thought out program.”
Lawyer Mandy Anderson, Faeldon’s chief of staff, said the hiring of professional athletes was part of the BOC’s personnel development and training program.
The basketball players carry the BOC colors in the UNTV Cup, which pits teams from various government offices and departments—including a squad for the House of Representatives. The bureau also backed a volleyball team that played in the V-League, which has been disbanded.
Faeldon confirmed the 28 athletes on the BOC payroll are also rendering intelligence work aside from sports-related services. He emphasized they were hired as “no one expects them to be part” of the intelligence group.
“They do not know anything about intelligence [work]. That’s precisely [why] they are there. Why? Because nobody expects them to be gathering information for the bureau. So, they are the most effective intelligence information gatherers,” Faeldon said in a press conference.
Volleyball star Alyssa Valdez and basketball veterans Marlou Aquino and Kenneth Duremdes were hired by the BoC under a “contract of services” and were paid P50,000 a month in 2016.
Anderson said the BoC intends to renew the contracts of the athletes despite criticisms, notably from congressmen.
Barbers, however, said the Bureau should justify the renewal of the athletes’ contracts. He said their job performance and their daily attendance should be closely scrutinized before the BoC could renew their deals.
The solon warned that if Faeldon insists on employing the athletes, “he has a problem.” Barbers said lawmakers would probe their service contracts, the athletes being considered as contractuals, as well as their daily time records.
“They should be going to work every day, but it seems that isn’t happening,” Barbers said.
Thirdly, the Surigao lawmaker said the athletes “are not performing intelligence work” because if they were, they should have reports to show for it.
“We will look at their performance reports. If [the BoC] insists on this, [Faeldon] will have the proper venue to defend that anyway and insist that it’s legal,” he added.
