MANILA, Philippines – Members of the House of Representatives on Monday, August 7, questioned why Bureau of Customs commissioner Nicarnor Faeldon was absent from yet another hearing of the dangerous drugs committee on the smuggling of billions of pesos worth of shabu from China.

Faeldon, who has been under the scrutiny of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, was absent at the start of the Monday hearing. Customs Deputy Commissioner Natalio Ecarma III said Faeldon had a “medical emergency.”

“He is the hospital right now,” said Ecarma, who later clarified that he was not privy to the details of Faeldon’s dental situation.

But legislators who attended the meeting – and were active in previous ones – expressed annoyance over Faeldon’s absence.

Capiz Representative Fredenil Castro said he wants the customs chief to “authenticate” and “describe” the dental emergency.

Marikina Representative Miro Quimbo said it was “unfair” that Faeldon skipped the hearing when most of the customs leadership and several personalities involved in the case had shown up.

“Less than a heart attack, he should show up,” said Quimbo, who also pointed out that Faeldon could always follow during the hours-long hearing.

Committee chairman and Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers told customs officials that Faeldon could arrive later on in the hearing. A previous hearing on the issue under the ways and means committee lasted over 10 hours.

Faeldon and the bureau have been under fire the past few weeks after both houses of Congress opened probes into how P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China made it past their checks through the “green lane.”

The drugs were eventually seized at a Valenzuela warehouse, in an operation that’s also been controversial in itself.

Legislators have called on Faeldon to resign, but President Rodrigo Duterte has apparently expressed his confidence in his appointee. The finance department, to which the bureau belongs, is set to conduct its own investigations once the congressional hearings are over. – Rappler.com