A PRELIMINARY report by the Senate blue ribbon committee is expected to be released today and would focus on charges to be filed against officials of the Bureau of Customs (BoC), the committee chairperson said on Tuesday, Sept. 19.

Senator Richard J. Gordon, committee chair, also threatened to subpoena a city judge for delaying the court proceedings on 890 kilos of shabu confiscated in San Juan in December 2016, which was reportedly one of the biggest haul by the National Bureau of Investigation.

This is apart from the 604 kilos worth P6.4 billion intercepted last May and which amount has been the main subject of the Senate inquiry.

“Ang papasok dito ngayon na kakasuhan sa report namin ‘yung mga Customs. Ang kinasuhan so far ‘yung mga nagpapasok. Ngayon, bukas lalabas, papaano nakapasok sa green lane,” Mr. Gordon said in an interview with the media after the hearing, the ninth inquiry into the P6.4-billion shabu shipment. (What will be included in the report are the charges that will be filed against Customs [officials]. The ones charged so far were those who facilitated the shipment. Tomorrow, it will be shown how the shipment got past the green lane.)

As for the now-resigned Bureau of Customs (BoC) chief Nicanor E. Faeldon, who is currently detained at the Senate for contempt, Mr. Gordon said his case will be tackled in the Senate inquiry next Monday, Sept. 25.

“Wala naman akong kailangan sa kanya. Wala namang nagtuturo na siya ‘yung gumawa. Si Ping lang. Susunod na kabanata na ‘yun,” Mr. Gordon said, referring to Senator Panfilo M. Lacson. (I don’t need anything from him. Nobody implicated him. Only Ping. That’s the next chapter.)

To recall, Mr. Lacson delivered a privileged speech on Aug. 23 linking Mr. Faeldon to the network of corruption at the BoC

The preliminary report will not also cover presidential son and Davao Vice-Mayor Paolo Z. Duterte who had been also linked, together with brother-in-law Manases R. Carpio, to a so-called Davao Group benefiting from the drug trade.

“He was not able to say anything when the people were here,” Mr. Gordon said, referring to the main accuser of the Dutertes, opposition Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV.

“The minority was there and they said they can go home so we were not able to get anything that will be in the report,” Mr. Gordon added.

Messrs. Duterte and Carpio, husband of incumbent Davao Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, appeared before the committee on Sept. 7 where Mr. Trillanes boldly accused Mr. Duterte of being a member of an international triad.

Since certain personalities vaguely referred to but not properly identified at the hearing have yet to be located, Mr. Gordon said the committee would continue its investigation after the preliminary report.

“Pinapahuli ko yung Tong Yen Pin, babae yun. ‘Yun ang connect dun sa China. Siya yung nag-asikaso,” Mr. Gordon said. (I’m having Tong Yen Pin, a woman, apprehended. She’s the connection in China. She’s the one who worked on the shipment.)

“Tita Nani,” as referred to by broker Mark Ruben G. Taguba II, has also yet to be identified. Mr. Taguba claims she was the person who facilitated a meeting between himself and Davao Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera, Jr. and Gen. Allen A. Capuyan, who are both alleged to be part of the Davao Group.

Mr. Gordon also threatened to subpoena San Juan City Judge Jovencio Gascon for delaying the court proceedings on the 890 kilograms of shabu seized in San Juan.

“He is violating the law. The SC should file charges against him,” the senator said.

Mr. Lacson, for his part, said: “Maliwanag kasi ang batas. May specific timelines na susundin kung saan patungo sa pag-destroy by burning. So kung December pa na-seize sa San Juan at hanggang ngayon di pa destroyed at matagal nang filed sa court, may problema talaga sa judge kung papakinggan natin sinabi ng DoJ na sumulat pa sila sa huwes at hanggang ngayon hindi pa sila nag-utos. Kasi 72 hours ang ocular inspection, then within 24 hours kailangan sunugin na ng PDEA yun.” (The law is clear. There are specific timelines to follow in the course of destroying illegal drugs by burning them. So if the drugs were seized in December yet, in San Juan, and this has not yet been destroyed and a case has long been filed in court, there is really a problem with the judge, if we go by what the DoJ said, that it even wrote the court about the matter and there has been no court order, in response. Because the ocular inspection takes 72 hours, then within 24 hours the drugs should be destroyed by PDEA [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency].)

Taking his turn to address the committee, Justice Secretary Vitaliano N. Aguirre II said he even raised that matter to Chief Justice Maria Lourdes P.A. Sereno.

Mr. Aguirre also pointed out that if Mr. Gordon pursues his intention to subpoena Mr. Gascon, this may lead to a “mini-constitutional crisis.”

Mr. Aguirre also noted that a hearing on the 890 kilos of shabu should have resumed on July 18 but this has been delayed until now because Mr. Gascon had been ill. — Mario M. Banzon

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