Duterte’s counsel Panelo asked for Faeldon’s release, Gordon confirms

Presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo requested that former Customs commissioner Nicanor Faeldon be released from Senate detention, Senator Richard Gordon said Monday.

Sources said Panelo met with Gordon last week after he attended a Senate hearing on Charter change.

When asked of the said meeting, Gordon said: “That’s true.”

“Sabi niya ‘mabait naman yan, palabasin niyo na yan.’ Sabi ko, ‘kung mabait yan, palabasin ko yan. Kung hindi siya mabait, sorry’,” Gordon said in an interview.

Faeldon faced the Senate Blue Ribbon committee after months of refusing to testify about the alleged corruption at the Bureau of Customs (BOC).

He said he chose to attend the hearing after he was appointed anew to a government post. He was appointed by President Rodrigo Duterte to the Office of Civil Defense in December last year.

Faeldon and Gordon were in heated exchanges throughout the hearing. Faeldon slammed Gordon, saying the senator was not out to get the truth, and was just “monologuing.”

In Monday’s plenary session, Gordon said senators have unanimously decided to transfer Faeldon to the Pasay City jail because of his behavior.

Faeldon will be transferred once Senate President Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III signs the commitment order, Gordon said.  —NB, GMA News