MANILA, Philippines – Former Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner Nicanor Faeldon failed to convince the Sandiganbayan to throw out the graft charges filed against him over his alleged involvement in a 2017 rice smuggling mess.
In two separate rulings released on Thursday, April 4, the anti-graft court’s Fifth Division denied motions filed by Faeldon and 3 co-accused against the charges presented by the Office of the Ombudsman.
Faeldon and the other individuals were asking the court for permission to file a demurrer to evidence — a move challenging the strength of the prosecution’s case, which, if granted, could have led to their acquittal.
The charges against Faeldon stemmed from a complaint filed by former senator Panfilo Lacson, in which he accused the then-BOC commissioner of approving the illegal release of Vietnamese rice shipments worth P34 million through the Port of Cagayan de Oro in 2017.
The first shipment contained 21,800 bags of rice amounting to P18.5 million, while the second one had 18,200 bags worth P15.5 million. They were initially seized by customs officers due to the lack of valid import permits, as well as non-payment of taxes and custom duties, among others.
In his motion, Faeldon insisted that Lacson had no personal knowledge of the transactions. The only document linking him to the shipments, Faeldon argued, was an endorsement letter that he claims is not enough to constitute a crime.
Sandiganbayan, however, said Faeldon “failed to present compelling reasons,” and that there was “prima facie evidence of the core allegations” under Republic Act No. 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act
“Granting leave will unlikely result in the complete termination of these cases and, therefore, will only unnecessarily stall the proceedings,” it said, adding that “it is best to let the trial proceed to allow the accused-movants to present countervailing evidence.”
Aside from Faeldon, charged as well are Cagayan de Oro district collector Tomas Alcid and officials of Cebu Lite Trading Inc., Lucio Roger Lim Jr., Ambrosio Ursal, and Rowena Lim. The co-accused, meanwhile, claimed there was no proof of conspiracy and that CLTI had valid export permits.
Sandiganbayan, however, said that they can still file their demurrer to evidence without leave of court. – Rappler.com