Ten of the arrested bodyguards, also known as the “Maleta Boys,” stayed overnight outside the Las Piñas Regional Trial Court (RTC), awaiting the resumption of bail processing Saturday morning.

Earlier, lawyer Levito Baligod confirmed that four of the original 18 complainants had recanted their allegations.

Reports said that of the remaining 14 accused, only 13 appeared before the Las Piñas RTC Branch 202 on Friday to post bail, as one of the accused was in the province attending the funeral of a loved one.

Lt. Col. Teoson Rosarito, Las Piñas Police assistant chief for operations, said only three of the 13 — Rommel Bobares, Johnny Buduan, and Rodante Orbillio — were able to post bail before bank transactions closed at 3 p.m.

The 10 arrested individuals were brought to the Las Piñas Police Station, located beside the RTC, after failing to complete the bail process before the bank’s cutoff.

Early Saturday morning, Baligod said they had failed to post bail after finding no available RTC night court in Metro Manila.

They returned Saturday to submit the required documents and may file the bail application in Las Piñas, Makati, or Pasay.

Baligod said the documents include proof of residency, a barangay certificate, and a sketch of the accused’s residence signed by the barangay captain.

He also stressed that an accused may post bail in another court even if the case is pending elsewhere.

On the other hand, Baligod questioned the processing of the bail requirements in Las Piñas, saying the same set of documents had already been accepted in Caloocan, San Juan, and Muntinlupa, where some of the accused had earlier posted bail.

“The same set of documents na naka-base lahat naman yung requirements sa Rules of Court. Noong sinubmit namin dito, ang dami nang hinahanap na nawawala daw. E bakit kami pumasa sa Caloocan? San Juan? Muntinlupa?” he said.

He also questioned the reported requirement for a Certificate of Detention despite the accused having voluntarily surrendered.

Baligod said the ex-soldiers voluntarily surrendered but were being asked to present a Certificate of Detention, which he described as contradictory.

He said the delay meant the 10 bodyguards would remain in detention overnight, noting that the recommended bail is ₱18,000 for each count, with four counts filed against each accused.

When asked if he considered the developments as harassment against their camp, Baligod instead blamed what he described as the improper handling of the bail process.

“It’s incompetence and even ignorance of the law because… this is about liberty. Ang liberty is one of the constitutional bill of rights natin,” he said.

Baligod thanked members of the public who donated money to help post bail for the accused.

Baligod maintained that the Office of the Ombudsman had conducted a thorough factual investigation before pursuing the perjury cases, saying eight lawyers separately examined each complainant under the supervision of an assistant ombudsman and a chief of the Field Investigation Bureau.

He added that investigators also conducted a walkthrough inside Forbes Park, where the complainants allegedly identified locations connected to their statements.