Opposition Senator Imee Marcos on Tuesday insisted on the need for a swift investigation into the P805-billion cash delivery allegations made by 18 so-called former Marines, following Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Chair Panfilo Lacson’s purported resistance to a probe amid questions about the men’s credibility.

Marcos argued that skepticism should not justify dismissing the allegations outright, but should instead prompt closer scrutiny.

She said the gravity of the ex-Marines’ statements in an affidavit warrants an immediate Senate investigation, noting that some of their peers, including Senate President Tito Sotto, were among those accused of receiving kickbacks.

“The Senate should not allow the reputation of several of its members, including the Senate President himself, to be besmirched, if such is the case,” she said.

“Whether the allegations are proven true or exposed as false, the truth can only emerge through an investigation. The question therefore remains: why should there be any fear of an inquiry?” she added.

Lacson, in a privilege speech on Monday, said the affidavit of the alleged bagmen of fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy Co lacked believability at the outset, citing basic mathematics.

He said the allegations, while serious, appeared logistically and mathematically implausible given the volume of cash involved.

Doubted

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

He said the enormous volume of cash would have required extensive logistical coordination and far more time than the period during which the supposed deliveries were made.

Lacson said that unloading, counting, repacking, reloading, and delivering the money would have taken five and a half years, or until mid-2028 if the deliveries started in 2023; or until mid-2027 if they began in the second half of 2022, when Co assumed the chairmanship of the House committee on appropriations.

He added that moving the money at P500 million per day would require 1,610 deliveries to and from Co’s residence and about 4.4 years to complete.

According to the 18 supposed former members of the Philippine Marine Corps, they delivered suitcases stuffed with cash from 2022 to 2025 to top government officials, including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., on Co’s orders.