MANILA, Philippines – Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon denied ever receiving money in exchange for favors in his agency.

Faeldon made the statement after Senator Panfilo Lacson alleged that Faeldon is among those receiving “grease” money, according to a “list” given to him. Faeldon is embroiled in the controversy involving P6.4-billion worth of smuggled shabu from China.

“I did not ask, I did not accept a single centavo while I’m at the Bureau of Customs,” Faeldon told reporters ahead of the 3rd Senate hearing on Tuesday, August 15. (LIVE: Senate hearing on P6.4B worth of shabu from China)

Faeldon said he wants to know who the culprits are inside the Bureau of Customs (BOC) so they could be prosecuted.

“I really want to find out who these people are, how do they do their shenanigans in the bureau. I-prosecute natin. Malalaman naman natin ‘yan (Let’s prosecute them. We will find out, eventually). We can pursue that. Makukuha at makukuha natin ‘yan (We will catch them),” Faeldon said.

Aside from Lacson, opposition Senator Antonio Trillanes IV implicated the Customs chief in corruption. Trillanes and Faeldon, both part of the failed Oakwood mutiny against former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2003, are not on good terms.

“I have enough information to say that he is at the heart of this controversy. And once he is done malingering, I hope he musters enough courage to face the grilling of the senators and congressmen,” Trillanes earlier said.

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. In a Senate hearing in 2016, former Davao policeman Arthur Lascañas linked the Vice Mayor to an earlier shipment of shabu, also from China. – Rappler.com