MANILA (October 28)— President Rodrigo Duterte defended former Customs commissioner Isidro Lapeña and his predecessor Nicanor Faeldon, saying that both were not involved in any corruption.
Lapeña andFaeldon were both dragged in a separate multi-billion peso drug smuggling cases involving the Bureau of Customs. Lapeña, amid the P11-billion shabu shipment controversy while Faeldon resigned after he was linked in the entry of P6.4 billion in shabu that was later seized in a warehouse in Valenzuela City.
“Mind you, ito si Sid Lapeña sa Customs, including Faeldon who was his predecessor, puro military ‘to, nalusutan talaga sila (they are military, they were just outplayed),” Duterte said.
Duterte said Lapeña and Faeldon were tricked by an insider, and that both had helped stop anomalies within the Bureau of Customs (BOC) in the past.
“Lapeña is good, he has been with me, he has served Davao more than 15 years,” he added. He cited that Faeldon was the one who gave him the tip there was a cigarette manufacturer who was producing fake stamps.
“Galing ‘yun kay Faeldon… Kaya maniwala na si Faeldon corrupt eh bakit — bakit ba niya sinumbong? ‘Di sinolo na lang sana niya. And so with Lapeña because he was my police chief for the longest time. Nalusutan lang talaga,” Duterte reiterated.
The existence of the shabu, as claimed by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, was previously contested by BOC. According to PDEA, the shabu in the lifters could amount into P11 billion. On Wednesday, October 24, Lapeña conceded that the magnetic lifters may have contained illegal drugs.
The following day, October 25, Duterte on Thursday, October 25, Lapeña was promoted as Technical Education and Skills Development Authority director general.- Jiann Padillo/ NewsLine
