MANILA, Philippines – Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon stays in his post now but President Rodrigo Duterte said he will make a final decision on his appointee after Congress wraps up its probe into the shabu shipment from China.

Asked by media if he is keeping Faeldon as BOC head, Duterte did not give a categorical “yes.”

“Wala pang… Wala pang result ng investigation (There is no… no result to the investigation),” said the President on Wednesday, August 2.

He said he would wait for the Congress probe to “wind up.” He would then study the report on the investigation and make a decision based on this.

“I want the report, final. Then I will review it and I will be fair,” said Duterte.

Both senators and congressmen slammed Faeldon and other BOC officials for how P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China was able to get into the Philippines through a customs express lane.

Some lawmakers suspect connivance between BOC personnel and drug traffickers.

Despite this, Malacañang said Duterte continues to have “trust and confidence” in Faeldon, his appointee.

“I believe in his integrity. As a matter of fact, he was in Davao 4 years ago when he was – together with some military men, and they were urging me to run,” said Duterte.

It seems that to the President’s mind, BOC personnel may have been at fault, not for corruption, but for erroneous “computation.”

“I said, if there is corruption, wala na tayong magawa (we can’t do anything). But if just a matter of computation, like in some cases, I would not – I know the guy,” said Duterte.

Faeldon was summoned by Duterte to Malacañang on Wednesday evening after two hearings on the smuggled shabu. 

Apart from the Congress investigation, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said his department will also conduct its own probe. – Rappler.com