Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, September 6) — President Rodrigo Duterte said he still believes in former Bureau of Corrections executive director Nicanor Faeldon.
The President said this in a speech delivered two days after he fired the former Marine for disobeying an order.
“Tarong na nga tao (He is an upright man). I still believe in him,” Duterte said in a speech delivered to landslide victims in Naga, Cebu.
He said Faeldon tipped him off about the multibillion-peso tax evasion case of tobacco company Mighty Corporation.
The company eventually settled to pay the government ₱40 billion, which would be used for its infrastructure program.
READ: Palace: ₱40-B Mighty Corp settlement to fund admin’s infrastructure programs
“Ug naghilom lang siya, nangayo siya, he could have made millions,” Duterte said about Faeldon.
[Translation: If he had stayed silent, if he had asked for a cut, he could have made millions.]
Faeldon was formerly commissioner of the Bureau of Customs. He stepped down in 2017 after ₱6.4 billion worth of shabu entered the country.
Duterte appointed him to the Office of Civil Defense before he was appointed to the Bureau of Corrections.
READ: Acting Bureau of Corrections chief named
