Barbers tells Faeldon to resign: ‘Pinahiya niyo ’yung Presidente’

House Committee on Dangerous Drugs chairperson Representative Robert Ace Barbers called for the resignation of Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon for his "ineptitude" in relation to the smuggling of P6.4-billion worth of shabu into the country.

During the House panel inquiry, Barbers chided Faeldon for the Bureau of Customs' failure to intercept the drugs, which were only discovered in a Valenzuela warehouse raid last May.

"Commissioner, sayang pinagkatiwalaan ka ng Presidente [Rodrigo Duterte]. Nilagay ka nga diyan para ikaw ang man of the hour. You were from nowhere. Hindi nga namin alam ang qualifications mo bakit ka nilagay diyan. [It's] because the President has full trust and confidence in you," he told Faeldon.

"Dahil pinahiya niyo yung Presidente in spite of the fact that we have a serious war against drugs, aba'y hindi lang kayo dapat managot. Dapat nga mag-resign na kayo, to avoid further embarrassment to the President," he added.

Barbers said Faeldon and the rest of the BoC officials "tainted" the administration's campaign against illegal drugs.

"You have undermined the efforts being taken by the law enforcers. You have a few hours to think about your resignation. All of you, you should all resign," he said.

Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez supported Barbers' call.

"I support the call for resignation na sinabi kanina ni Chairman Barbers," Alvarez told reporters in an ambush interview.

"Dahil kung ako ang nasa posisyon na yun ay talaga namang meron akong kaunting hiya na natitira ay talagang magreresign ako," he added.

Alvarez proceeded to describe Faeldon as "grossly incompetent" for his position.

Faeldon, however, said it is the President who should ask him to resign.

"I am a soldier. I don't treat this position as a job; it is a mission. And a soldier does not quit from his mission, but the soldier can be fired. So let the President fire me," he said.

In his opening statement earlier in the day, Barbers hit back at the BoC officials involved in the incident, saying they are "not fit for the job." — BM, GMA News@