MANILA, Aug. 2 (PNA) — President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday expressed his trust in Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon even as lawmakers are asking for the latter’s resignation over the PHP 6.4 billion shabu shipment that slipped by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) under his watch.
“I believe in his integrity,” Duterte told reporters during a press briefing held after the ceremonies for the 113th anniversary of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) in Quezon City.
Faeldon is currently under fire after the 604 kilograms of shabu was later recovered at two warehouses in Valenzuela City last May 26.
The shipment had earlier cleared through the BOC’s automated screening process.
The raid was conducted by a combined team of BOC and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents who acted on a tip from Beijing.
Faeldon and other BOC officials have been grilled in both the Senate and the House of Representatives on how such a huge amount of hard drugs got through Customs examiners.
Some lawmakers are asking for Faeldon’s resignation, but the Customs chief said he is leaving it up to the President to decide.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, who oversees the BOC, earlier told reporters that his department would conduct a separate probe on the incident after the congressional hearings are done.
In the meantime, President Duterte said that he would wait for the final report on the investigations before making his own evaluation.
“Let the investigation go to its end. Let them wind up. I want the report, final. Then I will review it and I will be fair,” Duterte said. (PNA)
/CMR
