With various lawmakers implicated in the affidavit of the supposed 18 former marines, Iloilo 1st District Rep. Janette Garin called on the public to be wary of the propaganda being packaged and legitimized through a dignified institution like the Senate.
Garin, who was named as one of the individuals that received luggages of cash, vehemently denied the accusations as she viewed it as an “orchestrated political theater” and did not offer any substantial merit due to a lack of basis.
“To this end, I call on the Filipino people to remain vigilant and discerning. Maging mapanuri po tayong lahat. In this season of gross propaganda and public deception, we must refuse to allow manufactured noise to drown out the facts,” she said.
The solon maintained that such discussions did not provide any benefit to the Filipino, merely serving as a platform to carry out the “political agenda” of some members in the upper house.
“I stand firm in the belief that the Filipino people deserve a public discourse anchored on verifiable facts and evidence, and not malicious fiction manifestly designed to serve a purely political agenda rather than the interest of truth,” she expressed.
The group labeled as the “Brave 18” were present at the Senate as they were summoned by the Senator Pia Cayetano-chaired Blue Ribbon Committee that was meant to investigate the multibillion peso flood control scandal.
Aside from current members of the House of Representatives, the group’s affidavit also tagged former lawmakers as recipients of their deliveries.
One ex-solon that was named was former Surigao del Sur Rep. Robert Ace Barbers, a congressman from 2016 to 2025.
More than just clearing his name, Barbers questioned the credibility of the 18 marines through asking why the name of Senator Loren Legarda was exempted in the list presented to the Blue Ribbon Hearing.
“Either the list given to him has been sanitized or he did not mention the name deliberately as their group is in good symbiotic company with those he did not mention,” he said referring to the names mentioned by Senator Rodante Marcoleta.
“The selection of names mentioned for character assasination purposely did not include Senator Loren Legarda who is now aligned with the Cayetano, Marcoleta group. Maybe they have five million reasons for not including and mentioning her name anymore,” he noted.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” the former solon added.
Aside from Legarda, another senator cited in the reports that was exempted from the lists was Senator Mark Villar. In their place, the names of Senators Vicente “Tito” Sotto and Erwin Tulfo who currently reside in the supposed new majority bloc.
Tulfo, who was elected as the new chair of the investigative committee through the recent senate “coup,” extended an invitation to the “Brave 18” in their coming hearing on Monday, 8 June.