The so-called “18 ex-Marines,” the whistleblowers in the corruption scandal facing the Marcos administration, doubled down on their explosive allegations against the President and his allies in Congress, including opposition lawmakers whom they accused of receiving millions in kickbacks packed in suitcases. 

The allegations were a repeat of those in their February affidavit. This time, they made the claims at a “hearing” called by the Blue Ribbon Committee’s subpanel.

Those accused flatly denied any links to cash-stuffed suitcases, dared their accusers to produce evidence, and threatened to sue over what they called fabricated charges.

It remains unclear, however, whether the testimonies were officially recorded, given the absence of the Senate secretariat and stenographers to document the proceedings.

Senate President Alan Cayetano administered the oath to the resource persons. At the same time, his team recorded the livestream of the hearing, as acting Senate President Win Gatchalian authorized a work-from-home setup on Thursday. 

The hearing was initially presided over by Senator Pia Cayetano, Blue Ribbon chairperson, before Vice Chair Senator Marcoleta took over.

The 18 individuals, who identified themselves as former soldiers and bagmen of the now-fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy Co, alleged that they delivered five suitcases to Paoay, Ilocos Norte, in 2022, the year Marcos assumed office. 

Johnny Buduan narrated how they transported the money, which was loaded into a bulletproof vehicle. However, when pressed about who the recipient was, he said he had only heard it was intended for the President. 

“What I heard then was it’s for President Marcos, sir,” he told the panel.

Belnard Tube, meanwhile, failed to recall the address of the residence where he dropped the money. However, he claimed he had seen photographs of the Marcos family, including the late former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

The money was allegedly part of the kickbacks from flood control projects, which came from government contractors, embroiled in either ghost or substandard projects. They alleged that the deliveries were made on the orders of Co, the chair of the House Committee on Appropriations in the 19th Congress.

Buduan claimed that he worked for Co for seven years as security, with one of their colleagues allegedly serving the longest for nine years.

The “Marines” claim the illicit money was mostly delivered in luggage, with the amount per suitcase ranging from P25 million to P70 million. 

Aside from Marcos, they also implicated several members of Congress in the kickback scheme, including Senators Tito Sotto and Erwin Tulfo, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and Ilocos Rep. Sandro Marcos, the President’s son. 

Sotto brands raps bogus

Sotto was accused of receiving two suitcases packed with illicit money, allegedly delivered in Baclaran in 2024, while Tulfo allegedly received at least eight suitcases of varying sizes “delivered” in Greenhills. 

Sotto brushed off the allegations, asserting that he will not dignify them “because I was not a senator from 2022 to 2025.” A certain “Mark” mentioned by the “Marines” was allegedly Sotto’s executive assistant, but the lawmaker argued he died in 2015.

“It’s obviously a bogus investigation in aid of destabilization!” Sotto told reporters.

Tulfo, meanwhile, flagged what he called glaring inconsistencies, which raise questions about their credibility.

“It is a lie, a blatant lie. They cannot even answer what the purpose of the suitcase was, where it came from…Clearly, a deception,” an irked Tulfo told reporters in a phone patch interview.

As for Romualdez, Buduan claimed he was part of the team that allegedly delivered approximately 60 to 70 suitcases to the former House leader. The deliveries were allegedly made three to four times a week, with different recipients.

Romualdez has long denied the allegations, saying no one can bribe him and that he will never allow himself to be a scapegoat or “fall guy for other people’s corruption.” 

The “Marines” also implicated administration lawmakers, namely, Reps. Gerville Luistro, Janette Garin, Benny Abante, Zia Adiong, Joel Chua, Terry Ridon and Jose Alvarez.  They also tagged former legislators aligned with the administration, like Ace Barbers, Dan Fernandez and Stella Quimbo. 

Alvarez made a surprise appearance at Cayetano’s press briefing shortly after the hearing to counter the kickback accusations leveled against him.

He was the former vice chair of the appropriations panel, but insisted that he never received a suitcase stuffed with cash from Co, not even a cent.

However, the supposed kickbacks were not only doled out to admin lawmakers, as alleged by the “Marines,” but also to opposition figures like Rep. Leila de Lima, former Senator Sonny Trillanes, and former Reps. Arlene Brosas, France Castro and Raoul Manuel of the Makabayan bloc were also accused of being recipients. 

The “Marines” alleged that Trillanes served as the intermediary who “received” the bribe money on behalf of the ICC investigators. Trillanes and ICC prosecutors had vehemently denied this.

Almost all lawmakers implicated in the alleged scheme denied that they received kickbacks from flood control projects, saying the probe was weaponized to discredit the impending impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte. 

The Cayetano-led bloc was mostly comprised of senators allied with the VP, though they insisted that the hearing had nothing to do with the impeachment. 

Cayetano and allies drew flak from Gatchalian’s faction, accusing them of holding an illegitimate hearing aimed at undermining them to retain the presidency.

Gatchalian’s 12-member bloc “ousted” Cayetano in a surprise coup on Wednesday. However, the latter’s camp argued that they retain control of the chamber because the revamp was unconstitutional for failing to meet the 130-member majority quorum threshold. 

Marcos in the flesh

Former military officer Belnard Tube claimed he saw President Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during the alleged delivery.

Malacañang swiftly rejected the allegations, with Palace Press Officer Claire Castro daring the self-described former Marines to substantiate their claims.

“Let them show the evidence first. It’s easy to point fingers,” Castro said.

“Especially if your real intention is just to destroy things and act as an obstructionist or destabilizer. They should prove it, give us documents and not just words,” she added.

Several lawmakers and former legislators implicated in the testimony likewise dismissed the accusations as baseless, inconsistent and politically motivated.

Adiong, who serves as a House trial spokesperson in the impeachment proceedings against Vice President Sara Duterte, likewise rejected the accusation that he received a suitcase of cash.

“I will not be intimidated by baseless accusations, recycled narratives, or cheap political machinations,” Adiong said, adding that the allegations appeared intended to distract from the impending impeachment trial.

Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda had earlier filed cyber libel and perjury complaints before the Department of Justice against the 18 former Marines and their lawyer, Baligod.

Former Surigao del Norte representative Robert Ace Barbers said the individuals involved should answer the allegations in court, noting that several personalities implicated in the hearing had already filed cases against them.

Barbers also questioned what he described as efforts to divert public attention away from Duterte’s impeachment proceedings.

Former Makabayan lawmakers France Castro, Arlene Brosas and Raoul Manuel likewise condemned the allegations, calling them a “desperate act of political demolition.”

Representative Leila de Lima said she had already filed libel, cyberlibel and perjury complaints against her accusers.

Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro, the House lead impeachment prosecutor, also firmly denied the allegations, while former lawmaker Terry Ridon dismissed testimony linking him to the alleged deliveries.