Duterte waits for Congress probes to “wind up” before deciding on Faeldon

August 2, 2017

President Rodrigo Duterte said on Wednesday that he would be "fair" with Bureau of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon as he would wait first for the result of the investigations being conducted by Congress.

In an interview in Quezon City, Duterte said if criminals were being given due process, Faeldon also deserves this.

"Let the investigation go to its hand. Let them wind up," he said, referring to the separate inquiries being conducted by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the alleged corruption and Faeldon's incompetence due to the P6.4-billion worth of shabu that was shipped to the Philippines from China last May without being detected by the Customs' personnel.

Duterte said, "if there is corruption, I could not do anything."

But if it was just a matter of computation, he indicated that Faeldon would remain on his post.

The President met on Tuesday Faeldon in Malacanang and decided to keep him despite calls by his allies in Congress for the BOC chief to resign.

"I believe in his integrity. As a matter of fact, he was in Davao four years ago when he was --- together with some military men and they were urging me to run," he said. Celerina Monte/DMS