Retired Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) players Kenneth Duremdes and Marlou Aquino led the athletes who appeared in the hearing at the House of Representatives on Monday.
Lawmakers are investigating the hiring of at least 28 at least last year by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as well as the shipment of more than P 6-billion worth of shabu into the country.
The players were supposedly hired as agents but the probe revealed that they have not contributed any intelligence reports to the bureau.
The players were just attending some sporting activities.
Customs Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon's Chief of Staff Mandy Therese Anderson said the services of the players were contracted for public relations purposes.
Lawmakers took a soft stance against the players, saying they obviously knew that they were officially hired at the BOC, but that they would not be performing functions related to the campaign for reforms at the bureau – which are to collect taxes and curb smuggling.
After asking a few questions to the athletes, lawmakers went back to ask other resource speakers like officials of the National Bureau of Investigation.
The NBI conducted the raid in warehouses in Valenzuela City.
The operation yielded over P 6-billion worth of shabu that came from China and passed through the green lane of the BOC.