LAWMAKERS on Thursday called for an investigation into why Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon hired 28 professional basketball and volleyball players as “technical assistants” to play for the bureau’s team.
At a hearing Wednesday night, Deputy Speaker and Batangas Rep. Raneo Abu said he was in possession of Customs Special Order 58 series of 2016, which showed that Faeldon’s chief of staff, Mandy Therese M. Anderson, was authorized to sign the daily time record of the athletes.
Anderson had earlier called Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez an “imbecile” in a Facebook post for threatening to abolish the Court of Appeals, and later revealed that the House leader had lobbied to get a Customs employee promoted.
The document, which bore the signature of Faeldon, showed that of the 28 basketball and volleyball players, seven are assigned to the Office of the Commissioner, 19 to the Customs intelligence group, one to the assessment and operations coordinating group and another to the import and assessment service.
Those assigned to Faeldon’s office are Kenneth Duremdes, Marlo Aquino, Dave Arguelles, Dante Canaway, Parley Tupas, Sherwin Meneses and Allysa Valdez.
Others listed were Berzon Franco, Michael Anthony Sumalinog, Edward Joseph Feihl, Ronjay Enreli, Gherome Ejercito, Bong dela Cruz, Ed Bundoc, Mark Mabazza, Rizal Vonn Ignacio, Samuel Ignacio, Martin Llagoso, Carl Bryan Vitug, Danielle Michiko-Castañeda, Menchie Tubiera, Andrea Marzan, Rizza Jane Mandapat, Jonalyn Ibisa, Fenela Risha Emnas, Joshua Esguerra, Jonah Joy Corpuz and Cyrine Gonzaga.
Abu said Faeldon admitted before lawmakers Wednesday night that the athletes were indeed hired by the bureau as “intelligence officers” and “technical assistants.”
“I want to know what these people’s qualifications are, find out if they can help in our fight against graft and corruption,” Abu said Thursday.
Abu said lawmakers want to know if the appointees were really working for the bureau and how much they earn.
“We’re only pursuing what Commissioner Faeldon has been telling us when he said that politicians should not endorse or recommend appointees because it’s a form of corruption,” he said.
Earlier, Faeldon hit lawmakers for alleged influence peddling in the hiring and promotion of certain Customs employees, saying that this impairs his efforts to reform the agency and rid it of corruption.
But Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said it was Faeldon who was hiring the unqualified.
“Look who’s talking! Faeldon tarnished the reputation of the entire House of Representatives by insinuating that lawmakers are endorsing promotions or employment to the bureau of certain personnel. Yet, it turned out he has employed sports people with dubious qualifications for their position,” Barbers said.
“Are these people qualified for their positions? How much are they paid? What kind of service are they performing for the BOC? Are they actually reporting for work? We will find out the real score in our next hearing,” said Barbers, whose committee on dangerous drugs is investigating how some P6.5 billion worth of shabu from China had slipped past Customs examiners in May.
Barbers also insisted that there was nothing irregular about lawmakers recommending appointments or promotions.
Several congressmen and senators have been calling on Faeldon to resign for gross incompetence over the huge shabu shipment.
Senators on Thursday bristled at Faeldon’s blanket condemnation of lawmakers for influence peddling.
Senator Francis Escudero challenged Faeldon to name names and refrain from making shotgun accusations.
Senator Panfilo Lacson, on the other hand, said Faeldon “spoke arrogantly too soon” after President Rodrigo Duterte expressed his confidence in him.
Escudero dared Faeldon to file charges against those whom he accused of contributing to corruption at Customs.
“If indeed it is corruption, then he should name them and file cases against them, if he is indeed serious in cleaning up his bureau,” said Escudero.
On Wednesday, Faeldon told members of Congress to stop meddling in the operations at the BoC, especially in the the promotion of its employees.
“I am appealing to you. You know that your request is a form of corruption but you insist and you became angry. Shame on you. Stop it,” Faeldon said.
“This is not your property. This is the country’s Bureau of Customs, this is the Filipino people’s Bureau of Customs… so don’t act like you own this,” he added.
In an interview over radio dzBB, Lacson said they were informed by the President during a meeting in Malacañang Tuesday night that he will wait for the findings of congressional investigations into the shabu shipment from China before deciding Faeldon’s fate.
“So I think Commissioner Faeldon, he spoke arrogantly too soon. Because when he was told that the President has confidence on him, it seemed that what he said–”shame on you”–was sort of offensive to the lawmakers,” Lacson said.
Also on Thursday, Alvarez said the creation of Command Center in the Bureau of Customs, the brainchild of Faeldon, was illegal.
At the hearing of the House committee on ways and means, Faeldon admitted that the Comcen was created only during his time and that it was established without any administrative order from the secretary of Finance.
Under the present setup at the BoC, only the Comcen has the authority to issue alert orders, which would allow the inspection of questionable shipments.
“Why is that so. Only because you cannot act on anything without an administrative order coming from the secretary of Finance. You are not authorized to do it,” Alvarez told Faeldon.
Faeldon said he had to refer the question to bureau lawyers.
The House of Representatives has been conducting separate investigations on how the P6.4-billion shipment of shabu slipped through Customs and reached a warehouse in Valenzuela City.
The Valenzuela warehouse was raided days after the shipment entered the country due to a tip from Chinese Customs.
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency Director Wilkins Villanueva testified before the House Tuesday, decrying BoC’s conduct of the raid and the handling of the evidence.
Faeldon himself admitted that there were lapses in handling of the evidence.
Rep. Harry Roque of Kabayan party-list slammed Faeldon and the BoC officials for trying to protect warehouse owner Richard Chen, whom the lawmaker said should be criminally charged for the shabu shipment.
“Today for the first time I saw the documentation and as testified by Col. [Neil] Estrella, you were requested by your Chinese counterparts not to go after Chen. So it’s like we’ve confirmed what everyone suspects. I’m calling a spade a spade: you’re protecting Chen,” Roque said.
‘And you’re not going after Chen because your Chinese counterparts told you not to go after Chen? I’m telling you, the perception is you are shielding Chen,” Roque added.