Former congressman Mike Defensor said security consultant-turned-whistleblower Orly Guteza is just the first of about 90 individuals willing to testify on alleged government corruption linked to the ongoing ghost flood control project controversies.
“Ang pagkakaalam ko noong umpisa parang grupo sana sila pero noong magusap sila ni Sen. Marcoleta [at Guteza] ang sabi ni Sen. Marcoleta ay mauna ka [Guteza] na para iyong mga kasama mong gustong magsalita ay lumabas na lang later on (I understand that at first, they were supposed to be a group, but when they talked with Sen. Marcoleta [and Guteza], Sen. Marcoleta said, ‘You [Guteza] should go first so that those of you who want to speak can come out later),” Defensor said in a radio interview Monday.
He added that Senator Marcoleta told Guteza to testify first to avoid confusion from the sudden influx of information.
“Ang alam ko sa detail nila, iyong sinabi ni Sgt. Guteza na 90, totoo iyon. Tapos mayroon din mga pulis na kailan lamang pumasok, parang nag-rirelyebo sila sa kanilang mga duties. So, 90 silang lahat, hindi ko alam kung ilan talaga ang gusto magsalita (What I know from their details, what Sgt. Guteza said was 90, that's true. Then there are also police officers who recently came in, it seems they were taking turns in their duties. So, there are 90 of them in total, I don't know how many really want to talk),” he said.
Defensor also said Guteza initially approached him through a mutual friend, another soldier.
“Actually, si retired Sgt. Guteza ang lumapit sa akin. Nagkuwento siya, hindi buong kuwento para bang paputol-putol iyong mga pangyayari. Ang sabi ko sa kaniya mas mabuti pa na direkta na niyang ikuwento kay Sen. Marcoleta (Actually, retired Sgt. Guteza came to me. He told me the story, but not the whole story, as if the events were told in pieces. I told him it would be better to tell it directly to Sen. Marcoleta),” Defensor said.
Addressing speculation that Guteza is being paid to testify before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, Defensor said:
“Wala, kahit singko, at yung kaibigan nya walang kapuli-pulitika kahit anong dikit sabihin nila si Sen. Marcoleta sabi nila may pultika senador siya sa ngayon. Pero si Sgt. Guteza, wala (None. His friend has no political affiliation, no matter how much they say about Sen. Marcoleta, they say he has a political affiliation as a senator at the moment. But Sgt. Guteza, none),” he said.