MANILA, Philippines - Suspected vehicle and firearms smuggler Lynard Allan Bigcas made a tearful denial of the accusations against him during a House committee hearing yesterday.
In an opening statement, Bigcas told the House sub-committee on Customs chaired by Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas that he was not dealing in stolen vehicles.
“I am a victim here. This whole thing even almost cost my life because the authorities launched a manhunt for me. They called me a terrorist, but I didn’t do anything illegal. I am not a bad person,” he said.
He said he came from a poor family and went to the US in 1997 with P6,000 in his pocket given by his father. He said it was his uncle who paid for his plane ticket.
“I worked hard, I worked long hours in the US to be able to save money until I put up a moving company in Houston, Texas. Last week, I lost my company and my employees because of this controversy,” he said.
Bigcas added that he was a motorbike enthusiast and had joined motorbike competitions.
“I love them (bikes), I worked to have them. They are like trophies to me. When I was a child, I didn’t have a bicycle,” he told the committee.
He said he was willing to part with his bikes and vehicles “as long as I get my freedom and my safety back.”
In the course of making his statement, he became so emotional that he could not speak, prompting Fariñas to declare a short break so he could regain his composure.
In yesterday’s hearing, Bigcas’ so-called “black book” was also presented. The names of at least one governor, two mayors and a Customs official were listed in the “black book,” which Bigcas described as his diary.
The names of a Gov. Jalosjos, a Bullet Jalosjos, a Mayor Ali, a Mayor Dimaporo, a Col. Pimentel, a Boy Plaza, and Noah Dimaporo, who is deputy customs collector in Cagayan de Oro City, were in the black book.
Bigas did not say, nor was he asked about, the exact identities of the Jalosjoses. The governor of Zamboanga Sibugay is Rommel Jalosjos while Zamboanga del Norte Rep. Seth Frederick Jalosjos is called Bullet by his friends in the House.
Responding to Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez’s questioning, Bigcas said no congressman or government official is protecting him.
“Certainly not, your honor. You are not even mentioned in my diary,” he said.
He said officials mentioned in his black book were his customers for bike and car parts, which he bought in the US and shipped to the Philippines through balikbayan boxes.
Bigcas, who is a green card holder and had lived in the US, said he did not pay taxes on the spare parts since he knew that balikbayan boxes are tax-exempt.
His “diary” also listed collectibles from his customers. For instance, there was P200,000 due from a Gov. Jalosjos and P150,000 from Boy Plaza.
Fariñas said collectibles in one page totaled P2.1 million.
Also listed in the suspected car smuggler’s black book are guns, gun parts and conversion kits.
Fariñas said five firearms are listed under the name of a Mayor Ali.
He said the guns include an AK-47, an AR (possibly Armalite rifle) and an FN 5.7 (a Belgian firearm) worth a total value of more than $14,000.
There is also a note opposite the mayor’s name that says, “250k down,” which could mean that there was a P250,000 down payment, he said.
Under Noah Dimaporo’s name, there were entries about bike parts and Daewoo (South Korean industrial firm) guns and ammunition.
The entries under Bullet Jalosjos were about parts for Toyota sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Committee members said Bigcas apparently dealt in guns, in addition to bikes and parts for bikes and cars.
This was denied by Bigas, who admitted that he had only brought in bikes and not firearms. “I was into bikes, not guns,” he said.
He said the entries in his diary about guns and parts were just inquiries from his friends.
“They inquired how much these would cost them if they bought these in the US, since they know that I lived there. I researched the prices through the Internet and informed them about these,” he said.
“But I never brought in guns or gun parts,” he assured congressmen.
Fariñas and his colleagues also could not believe Bigcas’ claim that he did not know that 11 of the 20 bikes and SUVs seized by the police, NBI and US Federal Bureau of Investigation agents from his two houses were vehicles stolen in the US.
The stolen vehicles include an $80,000 big “chopper” bike owned by screenwriter Skip Woods.
The FBI reported that Woods’ bike was stolen in Houston, Texas, where Bigcas used to live and operate a moving company, in January this year.
But Bigcas said he bought the bike from a Gregg Cook in Beaumont, Texas three years ago for $30,000.
He said Cook claimed he was the vehicle’s first owner, though he didn’t check the claim and the bike’s registration papers.
“I didn’t think that a bike worth $30,000 would be a stolen vehicle,” he said.
He said he dismantled the bike, “chop-chopped it and shipped it here through balikbayan boxes.”
The FBI discovered the bike when Bigcas posted it in his Facebook account along with some of his other bikes.
“I posted it because I was proud of it, it was like a trophy for me. I was not selling it. If I knew it was stolen, why would I post it? I am not that stupid,” he said.
The bikes and vehicles are still with the NBI and the police in Cagayan de Oro, except for Woods’ “chopper,” which the NBI had turned over to the FBI.
Committee members questioned the turnover, saying the big bike was part of the evidence in the case the authorities might file against Bigcas who, so far, is only facing charges for illegal possession of a shot gun and ammunition.
He promised to furnish the Fariñas committee with documents on the vehicles seized from him. He has petitioned a Cagayan de Oro City court to order the NBI and the police to return the vehicles.