Suspended Customs official Larribert Hilario (fifth from left)
Suspended Customs official Larribert Hilario on Wednesday denied any involvement in the P6.4-billion shabu shipment from China that passed through the Bureau of Customs (BOC) without inspection as he showed up for the first time at the House of Representatives’ inquiry into the drug smuggling .
The former Customs Risk Management head appeared at the ongoing investigation of the House committee on dangerous drugs.
Hilario is currently under the protective custody of the lower chamber.
Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fariñas earlier said that Hilario would “drop some bombshells.”
He has been blamed by BOC command center chief Gerardo Gambala for not putting data on the consignee of the shipment of “shabu” (crystal meth) in the BOC system that determines whether a shipment should be put in the green or other lanes for processing.
The shipment of 605 kilograms of shabu worth P6.4 billion passed through the green or “express” lane.
READ: BOC exec set to drop bombshell at House
“Ako po’y humaharap sa kagalang-halang na committee upang pabulaanan ang mga paratang na mayroon akong kinalaman sa nangyaring pagpasok ng P6.4 billion na shabu,” said Hilario who is currently under the protective custody of the lower House.
Hilario clarified that the risk management office (RMO) he previously headed had no control over the tagging of shipments in the BOC which is already in place prior his assumption to office as RMO chief.
“Wala pong kakayahan ang sino man sa RMO na mag-tag o baguhin ang tag ng shipment. Kapag ang isang kumpanya ay nagiimport, ang broker po ang maglolog ng entry sa E2M system. Ang impormasyon na ito ang magiging basehan ng tagging. Again, it is not the RMO who puts in the information to the system but the broker,” Hilario explained.
“Bilang hepe ng RMO ang alam ko po lamang ay kung ano ang mga risk factors na embedded sa system. Wala po akong kakayahan kung paano ginagawa ang specific tagging o kung ano ang bigat na ibinibigay sa bawat risk factor. At ang RMO ay hindi po nangangasiwa sa logdment ng entries at pagpapalabas ng kargamento,” said the Customs official since 2007.
Hilario narrated that on May 22, the RMO suspected a series of dubious import entries by a company EMT Trading. He said Customs broker TJ Marcillana lodged these entries.
“Noong May 15 to 19, ako ay itinalagang OIC ng command center. Noong May 22 napansin po namin sa RMO na si Customs broker TJ Marcillana ay nag-lodge ng iba’t ibang import entries,” Hilario said.
“Itong si broker Marcillana ay mayroon nang previous derogatory record sa BOC kaya tinitignan ng RM staff ang kanyang import entries. Napansin po namin na halos identical ang amount na nasa P40,000 bawat entry ang binayarang value added taxes ng napakaraming import entries. Ako po ay nagduda at naalarma sa dami ng entries na pinirmahan ni Marcillana,” he added.