MALACAÑANG on Monday, September 9, said there was a possibility that President Rodrigo Duterte might reappoint fired Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director general Nicanor Faeldon to another government post.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said President Rodrigo Duterte admires Faeldon's "honesty."
"Certainly, if the President reappoints him, we'll have to trust him on that," he told Palace reporters.
"That's the call of the President. He has the absolute discretion to appoint anybody whom he trusts, whom he feels competent, and who he feels could do miracles on one particular department or agency," he added.
But he clarified that this possibility is "still in the realm of speculation."
"We're all speculating that he will be reappointed to another position. The President has not done that so premature lahat ng speculation natin (so our speculation is premature)," he said.
Panelo made the statement a couple of days after Duterte said he still believes in Faeldon, whom he described as a decent man, despite having demanded for the latter's immediate resignation.
Duterte on September 4 sacked Faeldon amid the irregularities in the granting of time allowances for good conduct which shorten a convict's prison term.
Faeldon is a former mutineer who first served as Customs chief under the Duterte administration. He, however, stepped down from office in August 2017 after multibillion-peso worth of shabu slipped past port inspections.
Faeldon was reappointed to the Office of the Civil Defense before being tasked to lead the BuCor in November 2018.
Asked as to why the President reappointed Faeldon to government several times, Panelo said, "Eh bilib sa kanya. Hanga sa kanya. Kasi si Presidente, talagang ang gusto niya, 'yung very honest (The President admires him because the President wants a very honest man)." (SunStar Philippines)