MANILA: Bureau of Customs (BOC) official Larribert Hilario was placed on the Immigration Lookout Bulletin on Wednesday, August 2, upon the “urgent” orders of Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II.
Hilario is the BOC’s Risk Management Officer implicated in the P6.4-billion worth of shabu shipment from China which was able to leave the country’s ports. The drugs were seized in May from two warehouses in Valenzuela City, after the General Administration of China Customs alerted the BOC.
Hilario attended the hearing of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, after Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon initially said the official was “nowehere to be found.”
Faeldon’s testimonies to the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Monday, July 31, prompted chairman Senator Richard Gordon to seek a hold departure order (HDO) against the personalities involved in the shipment mess, including Richard Tan, the alleged shipper of shabu.
But instead of an HDO, Aguirre put Tan and the other personalities on the Immigration lookout bulletin. An Immigration Lookout Bulletin Order (ILBO) does not prohibit the subject from leaving the country, but it sets up a mechanism so authorities are alerted when the subject tries to fly out.
Also on the lookout bulletin is Customs broker Mark Ruben Taguba, who is already under the protective custody of the Senate.
Tan’s alleged middleman Kenneth Dong was also put on the lookout list even though the Senate Blue Ribbon Committe said Dong had already left for Chengu, China on July 28.
Fidel Dee, identified as the consignee of the drug shipment and two Taiwanese nationals linked to the Valenzuela warehouse, Jhu Ming Jyun and Chen Min, were also put on the Immigration lookout.
