Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, August 1) — Amid calls from some lawmakers for his resignation, Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon is staying put.
Secretary Sonny Dominguez of the Department of Finance (DOF) said that after a meeting in Malacañang Tuesday afternoon, President Rodrigo Duterte told Faeldon that he had his “full confidence” despite an ongoing congressional probe on a multi-billion peso drug shipment from China. The BOC is under the DOF.
Dominguez said Duterte told the embattled commissioner “to focus on serving the country.”
Just an hour or so before this, Faeldon was being grilled at the House of Representatives for the ₱6.4 billion shabu haul that slipped through Customs last May.
Dangerous drugs committee chair Robert Ace Barbers said what happened was an embarrassment to the President who had appointed Faeldon — and he should consider stepping down.
Faeldon, a former Marine captain who figured in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny, said he would prefer if Duterte was the one who would fire him.
“I am a soldier. I do not treat this position as a job. For me, this is a mission. However, a soldier can be fired. Let the President fire me.”
Related: Duterte details firing DILF chief Sueno
The Customs chief then left the House hearing around 4 p.m. as he was being summoned by the President.
Both the Senate and the House have been holding probes on the drug shipment issue. Tomorrow, Faeldon was again expected to appear before a separate House committee also looking into the matter.
