Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Ping Lacson on Monday defended his scrutiny of the alleged P805-billion kickback deliveries claimed by 18 supposed ex-Marines, who say they acted as couriers for fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy Co to several members of Congress.

Lacson stressed that while the allegations are serious, the scale of cash involved makes them logistically and mathematically implausible, warranting closer examination.

“While every imputation of a crime warrants our attention, none deserves our blind deference. In the same manner that everyone has a right to be heard, it is not a license to mislead,” Lacson said in a privilege speech.

“While I reserve judgment on the merits of the testimonies, I am duty-bound to raise questions of logic and—at the very least—basic mathematics,” he added.

The 18 self-described former Philippine Marine Corps members came forward in a press conference on 24 February, presenting an affidavit claiming they delivered suitcases of cash to government leaders—including President Marcos Jr., allies and some opposition lawmakers—as well as former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV. The payments were allegedly intended for International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutors. They were represented by lawyer Levito Balingod and presented photos purportedly showing the cash deliveries.

Lacson cast doubt on the allegations, pointing out that handling such a massive volume of cash would require extraordinary coordination and time, far exceeding the period in which the deliveries supposedly occurred.

“That would mean that P400 billion—or half of the P805 billion—out of the P2.7 trillion in physical cash in the Philippines would have passed through a single individual, equivalent to around 15% of all cash in circulation and in bank vaults,” he said.

He calculated that unloading, counting, repacking, loading, and delivering the money would take five and a half years if started in 2023, or until mid-2027 if started in the latter half of 2022, when Co assumed the chairmanship of the House appropriations committee.

Even assuming P500 million in daily transfers, Lacson said the operation would require 1,610 trips to and from Co’s residence, taking 4.4 years to complete.

He also noted that the P805 billion allegedly withdrawn over the years would represent a huge portion of the country’s total physical cash supply in 2024, citing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas data.

Lacson clarified that his remarks should not be interpreted as opposition to investigating the alleged kickbacks. Instead, he emphasized the importance of verifying claims to avoid legitimizing falsehoods.

“I raise these questions to ensure that the testimonies withstand established facts and logic before we even invite them to testify before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee…If their statements appear to be demonstrably false and physically impossible, wouldn’t convening a hearing effectively validate and dignify disinformation?” he said.

“I am sure trolls will throw shade on these questions. But we must think: if the allegations are used as instruments of propaganda, shouldn’t they at least be logical and mathematically possible?” he added.

Malacañang and several lawmakers accused of receiving payoffs have denied the allegations. ICC prosecutors also rejected claims of receiving bribes, saying the court independently funds their investigation into former President Rodrigo Duterte’s war on drugs.

Trillanes, meanwhile, vowed to sue his accusers and accused the Duterte camp of “financing” and “organizing” the alleged kickback affidavit to discredit the recent ICC pre-trial hearing and destabilize the Marcos administration amid ongoing impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte in the House of Representatives.