After ‘dental emergency,’ Faeldon skips Senate probe due to confinement

Camille Elemia

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After ‘dental emergency,’ Faeldon skips Senate probe due to confinement

Lito Boras/Rappler.com

Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon says he has been confined at the Manila East Medical Center since Tuesday, August 8, due to 'hypertension' and 'acute coronary syndrome'

HYPERTENSION. Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon skips the August 9, 2017 Senate hearing into the P6.4 billion worth of shabu smuggled from China. File photo by Lito Boras/Rappler

MANILA, Philippines – After skipping a House hearing, Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon was also a no-show at the resumption of the Senate probe into the P6.4 billion worth of shabu from China on Wednesday, August 9.

Faeldon submitted a letter to the Senate blue ribbon committee, saying he has been confined at the Manila East Medical Center since Tuesday, August 8, due to “acute coronary syndrome” and “hypertension.”

Faeldon has sent Edward James Dy Buco, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC), as his representative.

Last Monday, August 7, Faeldon skipped the House hearing for a “dental emergency” – something that lawmakers slammed. Marikina City 2nd District Representative Miro Quimbo even said: “Less than a heart attack, he should show up.”

According to Faeldon, he felt chest pains, prompting him to “urgently” consult with his doctor.

“On 7 August 2017, I was advised by my dentist that I needed further treatment for my interior teeth. Later that day, I started feeling discomfort in my chest area, which lef me to urgently consult with my doctor. I was diagnosed to be suffering from ‘Non ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction Acute Coronary Syndrome: Hypertension Urgency Hypertension Stage II.’ I was eventually confined,” Faeldon said in his letter.

Faeldon also submitted a clinical abstract, a medical certificate signed by Dr Arthur Bayani II, and a dental certificate signed by Dr Marie-Liza Diaz-Lopez.

After the first Senate hearing, senators slammed the seeming collusion between BOC officials led by Faeldon and Chinese nationals in the smuggling of some 604 kilos of shabu.

Lawmakers have called for Faeldon’s resignation but President Rodrigo Duterte has so far stood by his appointee. Duterte said he would wait for the findings of the congressional investigations before deciding on the issue.

Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, presidential son, was implicated in the controversy as well. The vice mayor, in a Senate hearing in 2016, was also linked by former Davao policeman Arthur Lascañas to an earlier shipment of shabu also from China.

During Wednesday’s hearing, Richard Tan or Richard Chen, the alleged importer of the shabu, was present. He denied being involved in the shipment and denied knowing Faeldon ahead of the seizure of the illegal drugs last May 26. – Rappler.com

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Camille Elemia

Camille Elemia is a former multimedia reporter for Rappler. She covered media and disinformation, the Senate, the Office of the President, and politics.