Ex-BOC chief cleared of all drug-related charges

FORMER Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, has been acquitted of all charges related to the entry of 604-kilos of shabu hidden inside 5-metal cylinders in May 2017, during his term as customs chief. The value of the discovered illegal drugs was placed at P6.4 billion, the highest amount of smuggled shabu at the time.

Faeldon, who was invited as a resource person during the 10^th hearing of the House ‘Quadcomm’ last November 7, shared this information to Pinoy Exposé, detailed in the letter he sent to Quadcomm overall chair, Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of the second district of Surigao del Norte.

Faeldon was on top of the list of customs officials immediately charged by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) before the Department of Justice (DOJ) for violation of Section 4 of RA 9165 (importation of dangerous drugs), RA 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and PD 1829 (Obstruction in the prosecution of criminal offenders).

On May 26, 2017, following a tip, the BOC traced the shipment of the shabu hidden inside the metal cylinders at a warehouse in Valenzuela City, some 10 days after its arrival and release at the Manila International Container Port (MICP) on May 16, 2017.

Faeldon noted the complaint was thrown out by the DOJ and the PDEA’s appeal also rejected with finality in a decision the Justice Department issued on January 24, 2018.

He also claimed that after the incident was investigated by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), he was not included in the charge sheet for the importation of illegal drugs the agency prepared that included 9 persons.

He added that last September 22, 2023, the Ombudsman dismissed the complaint filed against him for violation of Section 32 of RA 9165, usurpation of official functions under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) and Section 3 of RA 3019.

Faeldon added that a separate complaint before the Ombudsman accusing him of grave misconduct and violation of Article 239 of the RPC (failure to prosecute offender who committed a crime punishable by reclusion perpetua), were also dismissed by the Ombudsman last October 4, 2024.

The brouhaha surrounding the shabu importation resulted to Faeldon’s relief as customs chief. He was the first customs commissioner of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Faeldon would be replaced by then PDEA director general, Isidro Lapeña who would himself be axed by President Duterte as customs chief in October 2018, over another shipment of shabu smuggled inside 6-metal magnetic lifters released also at the MICP.

Four of the magnetic lifters would be found abandoned at a warehouse in Cavite with their content of shabu already gone. Two more magnetic lifters with their content of shabu was apprehended at the MICP.

The value of the missing shabu, estimated to weigh at 1.618 tons (1,618 kilos), was placed at over P11 billion while the value of the interdicted shabu at the MICP, weighing 355 kilos, was placed at more than P2.4 billion. This shipment remains the biggest in terms of value and volume in the country’s history up to now.

The controversy surrounding this incident is part of the ongoing investigation by the Quadcomm related to the “drug war” under the Duterte administration.

Faeldon would be subsequently appointed by President Duterte as chief of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) but he was fired in September 2019, after he got implicated in the controversy surrounding the alleged “selling” of the “credits” in the BuCor’s ‘good contact time allowance (GCTA) that allowed notorious convicts to be set free earlier than the sentence handed down to them.