Duterte stands by Faeldon, says most Customs people corrupt

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday said he continues to stand by Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, amid calls by various lawmakers for the embattled official to resign after some P6.4 billion worth of shabu slipped past the Port of Manila.

“But Faeldon, I stand by him,” Duterte said in a speech in Malacañang during the celebration of the 19th founding anniversary of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC).

In a Senate hearing on Tuesday, Faeldon admitted that he was aware of the "tara" (grease money) system at the Customs bureau long before he assumed his post. 

However, Faeldon said he was not able to investigate the existing system because he had no teammates to help him look into such large-scale corruption scheme.

Talks of alleged widespread corruption in Customs resurfaced after the smuggling of P6.4 billion worth of shabu that were later seized in a Valenzuela warehouse in May.

The Customs chief stressed that it would be very hard for him to man all ports in the country and conduct investigations simultaneously.

"Admittedly I failed to investigate it because I cannot do it alone. I was the only one appointed up to late last year. The people I have worked with there are the people I suspect doing the tara," Faeldon said.

Faeldon said since Day 1, he has been asking businessmen and importers to identify people asking them for tara so the government could address the problem. 

"12,000 po sila (importers). Nakikiusap ako, please go to my office and tell me who are these people asking for tara. Until today, none of the 12,000 importers have come up with a name of any official of the bureau," he said. 

Duterte backed Faeldon’s reasoning, saying corruption is indeed widespread in the bureau.

“Kaya lang nalusutan siya because lahat sa Customs corrupt,” the President said.

“I hope I won’t offend any particular person but almost all, sila ang mga magagandang bahay, magaganda kotse.”

Source: http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/16/17/duterte-stands-by-faeldon-says-most-customs-people-corrupt