Faeldon asks DOJ to dismiss raps over P6.4-B shabu shipment for lack of jurisdiction

 Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Thursday to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction the criminal complaints against him over the P6.4-billion smuggled shabu mess.

Faeldon, through his lawyer Jose Diño Jr, said only the Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan have the right to hear and resolve complaints against ranking public officials, the same ground invoked by detained Senator Leila de Lima when she challenged the jurisdiction of the DOJ to handle the illegal drug trading charges against her.

Faeldon, who attended the preliminary investigation hearing, was under Salary Grade 30 when he was BOC chief from July 2016 to September 2017.

 He is facing a complaint for conspiring to import illegal drugs and coddling drug traffickers under Republic Act 9165 or the Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act of 2002, graft, obstruction of justice under Presidential Decree 1829 and for negligence and tolerance under Article 208 of the Revised Penal Code.

"[T]his DOJ investigating panel, with all due respect, has no primary jurisdiction to conduct the preliminary investigation insofar as movant Mr. Faeldon, as the offenses and felonies alleged by the complainant [Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency] were committed by Faeldon, an SG 30, and that those offenses or felonies, were also allegedly committed in relation to Mr. Faeldon's office," the motion stated.

"Resultantly, it is the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan which have jurisdiction to conduct the preliminary investigation and the subsequent proceedings, if there be any," it added.

Faeldon, however, clarified after the preliminary investigation hearing that he would still submit himself to the proceedings should the three-man DOJ panel headed by Assistant State Prosecutor Aristotle Reyes rule that the DOJ has jurisdiction over the complaint.

The investigating prosecutors gave the PDEA five days to comment on Faeldon's motion.

The DOJ panel set the filing of counter affidavits for October 19.

Apart from Faeldon, the PDEA also slapped criminal charges against BOC officials and employees, importers, and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) agents.

Also pending before the DOJ is the complaint filed by the NBI against nine people including businessmen Kenneth Dong, Chen Ju Long or Richard Tan, and customs fixer Mark Taguba.

The illegal shipment containing 602.279 kilos of shabu was discovered on May 26 when the BOC and NBI personnel raided the Hongfei Logistics warehouse in Valenzuela City owned by Chen based on the tip from Chinese authorities.

The Senate and House of Representatives then conducted separate inquiries on the controversy, which has already resulted in the resignation of Faeldon amid allegations he pocketed bribes from smugglers.

Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte and his brother-in-law Mans Carpio were also implicated in the smuggling mess by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, a charge denied by the two men when they faced the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing on September 7.