By GENALYN KABILING
Malacañang is not inclined to intervene to secure the release of former Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon from jail despite his recent appointment as deputy administrator of the Office of Civil Defense (OCD).
Faeldon could still perform his duties related to OCD even though he is in jail, according to Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque.
“He is appointed to OCD, which is a policy making body, so our position is he can perform his tasks wherever he may be, even in jail,” Roque said during a press conference in Marawi City.
Asked if the Palace would intervene in Faeldon’s case, Roque said: “We have never intervened in the legislative process. I don’t think the President will begin now.”
Faeldon has been transferred to the Pasay City jail after trading barbs with Senator Richard Gordon, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee probing the alleged corruption in the Bureau of Customs.
The former customs chief has been detained at the Senate since September after being charged with contempt for refusing to appear in hearings.
The President appointed Faeldon as deputy administrator of the OCD, an attached agency of the Department of National Defense, last month.
Faeldon resigned as BOC chief in August at the height of the Senate hearing into the controversial R6.4 billion shabu shipment that slipped past the customs bureau. He has denied involvement in the smuggling allegations.
