Members of the House committee on dangerous drugs chaired by Rep. Robert Ace Barbers (2nd District, Surigao del Norte) are recommending the filing of criminal and/or administrative complaints against former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon and other BOC officials who were allegedly involved in the tara system in the agency.
During the previous hearings, Barbers said the committee established that there was indeed a tara system going on in the bureau.
I'm sure the members enjoin me in the conclusion that there is really a systemic, endemic or whatever epidemic that is going on in the bureau. And this is the reason why smuggling of goods, including shabu, was possible, said Barbers.
Barbers cited Senator Ping Lacson's privilege speech the other day which named BOC officials and personnel who were allegedly involved in the tara system.
Lacson named Faeldon as one of the recipients of P10,000 to P15,000 per container and who got a welcome pasalubong of P100 million.
Barbers said for the committee to remain focused on the subject matter of drugs, he deemed it necessary to come up with an executive summary of the 52-page committee report, including its recommendations.
He also asked the committee members to go over the draft committee report before they decide to adopt, approve or amend and perhaps, include more recommendations for submission to the House committee on rules for eventual scheduling of the report in the plenary.
He said there were serious criminal and administrative liabilities that they can recommend against the bureau officials while in the performance of their duties at the agency.
Nakakatakot ito dahil 600 kilos lang itong nahuli, Barbers said.
The House committee on ways and means estimated that more or less P22 billion to P25 billion worth of shabu was not apprehended, he said.
Barbers said the committee recommended the filing of a complaint against Faeldon for violation of Section 3 of the Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the investigation by the Office of the Ombudsman.
The committee is also recommending the filing by the Department of Justice (DOJ) of falsification, as defined and penalized under Article 172 of the Revised Penal Code, against Faeldon's Chief-of-Staff Atty. Mandy Therese Anderson.
Anderson signed the Daily Time Records (DTRs) of the basketball and volleyball players hired by the BOC and made it appear that they reported for work as Technical Assistants and Counter Intelligence Analysts when they were actually hired to play for the BOC basketball and volleyball teams.
The committee also recommended the filing of a complaint by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) against Atty. Dennis Siyhian and Atty. Catherine Nolasco, investigators of National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Anti-Organized Transnational Crime Division.
Siyhian and Nolasco failed to turn over the custody of the 500 kilos of shabu to the PDEA. This was a violation of the Dangerous Drugs Board Regulation No. 1, Series of 2002, Custody and Disposition of Seized Dangerous Drugs, in relation to Section 32, RA 9165.
Deputy Speaker Raneo Abu (2nd District, Batangas) moved that the name of BOC Deputy Commissioner Gerardo Gambala be deleted in the list of respondents in the absence of documents determining his liability in the cases that the committee recommended.
The committee tackled the results of its inquiry on the basis of House Resolution Nos. 1054 and 1057 filed by Barbers and Rep. Wes Gatchalian (1st District, Valenzuela City), respectively, on the illegal entry of drugs through the BOC express lane.
Source: House of Representatives