Bureau of Customs Commissioner (BOC) Ariel Nepomuceno denied allegations linking him to former Marine Master Sergeant Orly Guteza, the surprise witness who was revealed during the previous Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing in September.

“He’s not a close-in, he’s not under payroll,” Nepomuceno clarified after a reporter asked him about their alleged history, but admitted that Guteza was a friend of one of the members of his security detail.

Guteza was indeed a regular personality at the BOC that Nepomuceno recognized him immediately and claimed he was surprised to see him at the Senate hearing.

But anonymous sources close to the Commissioner also divulged that they were surprised to know that Guteza was not a BOC employee as they claimed to have seen him very often with Nepomuceno’s security detail.

“I always thought that [Guteza] was part of the close-in security,” one of the sources pointed out. Now that Nepomuceno confirmed that Guteza is not part of the security detail, they just find it ‘odd that he is often with the Commissioner.’

Guteza was the surprise witness presented by Senator Rodante Marcoleta at the Blue Ribbon Committee’s hearing on the anomalous flood control and infrastructure projects scandal.

The ex-Marine’s affidavit sought to establish former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s links to the issue. He had claimed that he was a security personnel of ex-Ako Bicol Party-List representative Zaldy Co., and was tasked to deliver suitcases of cash to one of Romualdez’s houses.

After his appearance at the Senate hearing, Guteza was invited by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to share more details about his statement, but he has yet to show up.