Palace: Duterte still trusts former Customs chief Lapeña

MANILA, Philippines — Former Customs chief Isidro Lapeña still enjoys the trust and confidence of President Rodrigo Duterte even if he is facing criminal and administrative cases over the multibillion-peso shipment of shabu that entered the country last year. 

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Lapeña, now director general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, is presumed innocent of the allegations against him until proven otherwise. 

"As far as the president is concerned, he trusts (Lapeña). But if the evidence proved otherwise, then it will be a different story," Panelo said in a press briefing Monday.

"He (Lapeña) remains constitutionally presumed to be innocent," he added.

Asked why the president trusts Lapeña even if some state agencies are convinced that he could be liable for graft, Panelo said: "Because he knows him personally. He has worked with him, and he trusts him." 

Panelo said the administration is leaving it to the courts to decide whether the charges against Lapeña have basis. 

READ: Duterte 'promotes' Lapeña to TESDA; ex-AFP chief Guerrero to head Customs

Last week, the National Bureau of Investigation filed criminal and administrative cases against Lapeña and 50 others over billions worth of shabu believed to have slipped past the Customs bureau last year. 

Lapeña was charged with two counts of violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices act, dereliction of duty and grave misconduct. The former customs chief was accused of failing to act against importers, brokers and consignees of the shabu shipment that were concealed in lifters found at the Port of Manila and in Cavite.

About P2.4 billion worth of shabu were recovered from the magnetic lifters at the Port of Manila while the empty lifters in Cavite were said to have contained P11 billion worth of the illegal substance, investigators said.  

Lapeña has denied involvement in shabu smuggling. Duterte has vouched for Lapeña's character, saying the former Customs chief was an honest man who was outplayed by a "corrupt" system.