MANILA, Philippines – The problems don’t end for Nicanor Faeldon, outgoing commissioner of the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

After a weeks-long probe into how billions of pesos worth of shabu from China made it past the bureau, the House committee on dangerous drugs is “looking at [a] possible [case of] planting of evidence” against Faeldon, who ordered the transfer of 100 kilos of shabu from one warehouse to another.

It was supposed to be a “controlled delivery,” a technique used when a shipment of illegal drugs is allowed to pass through the agency – under the tight control and supervision of law enforcers – to have evidence against persons who facilitated the illegal shipment.

The illegal shipment in Faeldon’s case, however, had already made it past the BOC’s checks, apparently because the shipment was coursed through the “green” or express lane. Two days after the shipment left the Manila International Container Port last May 23, Chinese businessman Richard Tan would call the bureau to inform them of the illegal shipment.

The BOC said Tan was an informant, but a Customs broker who stood as witness during the hearings said he was the mastermind of illicit shipments.

“This is a very critical issue we are looking at but we are not sure yet. As I speak, we are looking at possible planting of evidence… Planting of evidence [case] against Commissioner Faeldon,” said House dangerous drugs committee chairman and Surigao del Norte 2nd District Representative Robert Ace Barbers in a press conference on Tuesday, August 29.

Section 29 of Republic Act 9165 states “any person who is found guilty of ‘planting’ any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical, regardless of quantity and purity, shall suffer the penalty of death.” 

The committee’s draft report is already finished and will be made public once it is signed by a majority of the committee’s 41 members. Barbers had earlier announced in a press release that Faeldon and other BOC officials face both criminal and administrative charges over the P6.4-billion shabu shipment.

At least 3 different congressional committees – two in the House and one in the Senate – investigated the incident, which touches on two core issues of the Duterte administration: illegal drugs and corruption. President Rodrigo Duterte defended his first BOC commissioner from allegations of corruption but ultimately decided to replace Faeldon.

The “controlled delivery” and the subsequent anti-drug operation has been criticized by lawmakers because it apparently violated existing agreements between the BOC and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) which, by law, is in charge of all anti-drug operations.

Faeldon and other BOC officials, many of them former soldiers like the outgoing commissioner, also face charges for these lapses. (READ: Faeldon: I never committed, tolerated corruption)

Barbers also said they will recommend the abolition of the Faeldon-created Command Center, which was meant to streamline and centralize operations in the bureau. But during the hearings, lawmakers pointed out that the system made it so that the bureau’s vast powers were placed in the hands of one person.

Barbers added that they would study the possibility of imposing qualifications for future BOC appointees. Deputy commissioners and other top officials were criticized by legislators for apparently not having proper backgrounds and experience for their posts. – Rappler.com