ABOUT THREE hours into the Senate blue ribbon committee’s eighth public hearing on illegal drugs, resigned Customs chief Nicanor E. Faeldon surrendered to the Senate Office of the Sergeant-At-Arms (OSAA) on Monday, Sept. 11.

Mr. Faeldon, who has been cited in contempt for being a no-show at the Senate inquiry since last week, went directly to the OSAA and did not, as he had previously stated, participate in the committee’s investigation. The committee has been looking into the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China last May and the related corruption at the Bureau of Customs as tackled by Senator Panfilo M. Lacson’s recent privileged speech linking as well Mr. Faeldon.

Upon being informed of Mr. Faeldon’s arrival, Richard J. Gordon, committee chairman, called for a recess so he could talk to the former Customs chief.

“Sabi niya respetado naman niya ang Senado at handa siya na mag-stay dito at makulong at hahabulin daw niya sa korte. Pero ang pakiramdam niya habang nandito hindi siya mananagot dito dahil ang mga senador ay may mga karapatan tulad ng privilege speech,” Mr. Gordon said.

(Mr. Faeldon said he respects the Senate and that he is ready to stay here. He will just pursue his case in court. He just felt however that while he is here, he wouldn’t be able to defend himself because of the senators’ privileged speeches.)

Mr. Gordon added that if Mr. Faeldon felt maligned by a senator’s privileged speech, he has the right to file an ethics case. The senator also noted that Mr. Faeldon will be detained until he decides to cooperate.

“He was very respectful. He said I came here. I don’t defy the Senate and I respect the Senate except the two,” Mr. Gordon said, quoting Mr. Faeldon. According to the senator, Mr. Faeldon was referring to Mr. Lacson and Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV, who said accused Mr. Faeldon of being at the “heart of the BoC controversy.”

Mr. Gordon further stated that it is the committee which will decide on where to detain Mr. Faeldon.

“Nasa committee ‘yun. I will not take it upon myself. Puwede kong pananagutan na he is in contempt,” he said.

For his part, Mr. Lacson said: “Ang kinuquestion niya di lang batas kundi Saligang Batas. Maliwanag sa Section 11, Article 6 ng Constitution na kami, di kami pwede ma-held liable sa aming mga speeches, sa debate, sa plenaryo man o sa committee, sa pag-pursue ng aming mandated duties,” Mr. Lacson said. (He is questioning not only the law but the Constitution. It is clear in Section 11, Article 6 of the Constitution that we are not liable for our speeches, in the debates, in the plenary or in the committee, as we pursue our mandated duties.)

Mr. Lacson said he has complete documentation on the charges that he said he will file against Mr. Faeldon and other Customs personnel. “Sabihin na nating kumpleto ang documentation (Let’s just say our documentation is complete). Fina-finalize na lang namin (We are finalizing) and we are about to draft the complaint I will lodge before the Office of the Ombudsman against Faeldon and some other Customs personnel,” he said.

Mr. Trillanes, for his part, said: “Alam ninyo ako nakulong ako e (You know I’ve been jailed before). Kahit na magkaiba ‘yung opinion namin (Even if we have differences in opinion), I wouldn’t wish that to my enemies.”

‘QUICK CONVERSATION’
On Monday’s hearing, Ret. Brig. Gen. Allen A. Capuyan, Assistant General Manager for Security and Emergency Services of the Manila International Airport Authority; and Ret. Capt. Milo Maestrecampo, former director of the Bureau of Customs (BoC) Import Assessment Services (IAS), denied their involvement in the smuggling and bribery inside the BoC.

Earlier in the hearing, Mr. Gordon showed text messages between broker Mark Ruben G. Taguba II and the contact he has identified as a certain Tita Nanie, implicating Messrs. Capuyan and Maestrecampo as part of the so-called “tara” bribery system. Senate protection for Mr. Taguba had been removed but was restored on Monday. For his part, he claimed that he had given a P1-million check to Tita Nanie as intended payment for Mr. Capuyan, which the latter denied at the hearing. Mr. Taguba did not state, however, the recipient he wrote on the check.

But Mr. Capuyan acknowledged that he had met Mr. Taguba through Tita Nanie and Jojo Bacud, whom he had worked with. According to Mr. Capuyan, Mr. Taguba sought his help regarding the entry of his shipments.

“It was a quick conversation since there were other people at the table whom I needed to talk to about airport matters…If I am not mistaken, it was a certain Nanie talking about his (sic) concern at Customs. Out of courtesy to the people around, I politely said I will try to look into his concerns, but no commitments. But certainly, I was of no help because I am not familiar with customs operations and (it) is not (in) my official capacity to do so. It was my first and last meeting with Mr. Taguba,” Mr. Capuyan said.

He added, but without elaborating, that Mr. Taguba has been under investigation by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA).

Mr. Capuyan also identified Mr. Bacud as someone going back to their time in the Philippine Military Academy. “I meet him again when I was assigned at the airport. I observed conducting intelligence gathering and custom-related functions,” the retired officer said. Mr. Bacud introduced him to Tita Nanie and a certain Noel as “business partners.”

For his part, Mr. Maestrecampo denied ever meeting Mr. Taguba or any of the people mentioned by the broker. He added that the IAS can only flag certain shipments but does not have the power to lift any alert.

Mr. Gordon expressed skepticism over these claims by Messrs. Capuyan and Maestrecampo. The committee will resume its inquiry on Sept. 19. — Mario M. Banzon

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