Isidro Lapeña still enjoys Duterte’s trust — Palace

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

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Lapeña, current 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 him. But if the evidence (would) prove otherwise, then it will be a different story,” Panelo said in a press briefing yesterday.

“(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 answered, “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.

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 BOC last year.

Lapeña was charged with two counts of violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, neglect 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 magnetic 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, according to investigators.

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.

Meanwhile, Malacañang yesterday distanced itself from the cases filed against Health Secretary Francisco Duque III in connection with the deaths tied to the Dengvaxia vaccine.

Panelo said the administration is leaving it to the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) to handle the charges it filed against the health chief.

He added that there is no need for the Palace to conduct a parallel investigation on Duque, whose agency has been accused of damaging internal organs of children believed to have died because of the anti-dengue vaccine.

“We’ll have to wait. That is just an allegation, so we cannot just be poking into every allegation of every person or citizen of this country,” Panelo said. “If they have evidence against a particular public official, then sue them and let due process run its course.”

The P3.5-billion Dengvaxia project, which was implemented during the time of former president Benigno Aquino III, sparked outrage after it was revealed that the vaccine may have placed students who never had dengue fever at risk of contracting a more serious illness. Aquino has denied disregarding the safety of students who were given the vaccine and has decried the supposed politicization of the issue.

In April, the parents of a teenager who died after she was given the vaccine filed reckless imprudence charges against Duque, incumbent and former health officials and executives of Dengvaxia-maker Sanofi Pasteur and pharmaceutical firm Zuellig Pharma Corp.

In the same month, PAO filed an obstruction of justice complaint against Duque for allegedly blocking the probe on the deaths of children who were given the vaccine.

Duque has denied the allegations which, he said, hamper ongoing efforts to provide accessible health care to those inoculated with Dengvaxia.