MANILA - (UPDATED) A teary-eyed Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon refused Tuesday to answer a question from fellow former mutineer, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, during the Senate probe on the P6.4 billion illegal drug shipment.
Trillanes was asking Faeldon if there is corruption in the Bureau of Customs, but the Customs chief refused to answer the question, saying the senator had already accused him of being at the center of the mess at the agency.
The senator threatened to cite Faeldon in contempt but the Customs chief said he would no longer answer questions from Trillanes.
"The accusations against innocent people have been done . It is my responsibility not to allow this to happen to these innocent people working so hard under the Customs," an emotional Faeldon said.
Trillanes and Faeldon were among the soldiers who staged the 2003 Oakwood mutiny against the administration of then-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, supposedly a protest against corruption.
Faeldon later claimed Trillanes received money from Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos back in 2004 while in detention.
Senator Richard Gordon was forced to call for a recess to talk to Faeldon. After the conversation, Faeldon said he would answer Trillanes' answer because of his respect for the Senate as an institution.
He then confirmed that there is corruption in Customs, saying he had already heard about the "tara" system even before he joined the bureau.
-- ANC, August 15, 2017
Customs, Trillanes, Faeldon, Gordon, Shabu, Shipment, antonio trillanes, nicanor faeldon