MANILA, Philippines – Customs chief Nicanor Faeldon on Friday defended his hiring of sports personalities in the bureau, saying they were not regular employees but “goodwill ambassadors” helping the agency shed its corrupt image.
“‘Pag humarap sa’yo ang empleyado ng Customs para sabihin na binabago na (ang) ahensya, walang maniniwala sa’yo. We need to hire effective communicators to convince them na nagbababago na kami,” Faeldon said during a press conference in Manila, which was also attended by former Philippine Basket Association (PBA) player Kenneth Duremdes, one of the athletes that the Customs chief hired.
[Nobody will believe us if a Customs employee will be the one saying that the agency is already being changed for the better. We need to hire effective communicators to convince them that we are already changing.]
Last Thursday, August 3, Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert “Ace” Barbers chided Faeldon for criticizing government officials who allegedly wanted to influence promotions at the bureau. The Customs chief said the lobbying at the bureau by some lawmakers “is a form of corruption.”
Barbers hit back at Faeldon and said that, “Look who’s talking! Faeldon tarnished the reputation of the entire House of Representatives by insinuating that lawmakers are endorsing promotions or employment to the bureau of certain personnel. Yet, it turned out he has employed sports people with dubious qualifications for their position.”
The sports personalities in the bureau, who were mostly designated as technical assistants, earned between P20,000 and P45,000 monthly.
Among those who were hired by Faeldon last year besides Duremdes, are PBA stars Marlou Aquino, Dave Arguelles, and Edward Joseph Fiehl, and volleyball star Alyssa Valdez. Fiehl was assigned to the bureau’s intelligence unit and worked there as an agent, according to Faeldon.
The Customs commissioner said the athletes were effective in their jobs despite being paid too little money.
“They are underpaid pero malaking tulong para sa imahe ng ahensiya [but they were of big help to the agency’s image],” Faeldon said on Friday.
According to Duremdes, besides playing for Team Customs for a unity cup at the bureau, the athletes also have basketball clinics for poor youth.
Asked by reporters on Friday what athletes were doing as technical assistants under the Office of the Commissioner, Duremdes said, “Nasa opisina lang kami ni Com…[We’re just at the office of the commissioner]. More on community-based works lang ginawa namin [What we did were mostly for community-based work].”
During the press briefing on Friday, the bureau showed reporters documents stating that the contracts of the athletes would no longer be renewed by the agency. But Faeldon said he would still ask help from them.
