PDEA to appeal DOJ clearing Faeldon

Rambo Talabong

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PDEA to appeal DOJ clearing Faeldon

Rappler.com

Faeldon is cleared by the DOJ last week after failing to find probable cause, supposedly because of PDEA's weak complaint

MANILA, Philippines – Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon may not be off the hook just yet from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) will appeal to the DOJ not to drop charges against him over P6.4 billion in smuggled shabu from China, Rappler learned.

“Our Legal and Prosecution Service will file an MR (motion for reconsideration),” PDEA Spokesperson Derrick Carreon said in a text message on Wednesday, November 29.

The DOJ panel cleared Faeldon and other accused BOC officials last week, November 22 after finding “lack of probable cause” to keep the charges against them.

According to the DOJ, a part of the reason why they dropped the charges was because the PDEA failed to state with clarity in its complaint the acts of omission supposedly committed by the named BOC respondents leading to the success of the illegal importation.

The DOJ panel ended up charging with importation of illegal drugs Customs “broker” Mark Taguba, who was identified as the alleged middleman in the shipment case.

Carreon denied the DOJ’s pronouncement, saying they will file the MR to show that they are firm about their complaint.

It is unclear, however, how they will make up for the holes in their first charge, and whether their appeal will also request returning the charges against other former BOC officials.

“I still have to check with our legal on the case,” Carreon said in another text message. – Rappler.com

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Rambo Talabong

Rambo Talabong covers the House of Representatives and local governments for Rappler. Prior to this, he covered security and crime. He was named Jaime V. Ongpin Fellow in 2019 for his reporting on President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs. In 2021, he was selected as a journalism fellow by the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics.