'Ex-Marines' drag Marcos, Tito Sotto, Erwin Tulfo, De Lima to flood control mess

Individuals claiming to be former members of Marines alleged Thursday that they delivered suitcases of money to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, Senators Vicente "Tito" Sotto III and Erwin Tulfo, Representative Leila de Lima, and former Rep. France Castro, among others.

During the Senate hearing on the flood control mess presided over by Senator Pia Cayetano, Johnny Buduan said that in 2022, they delivered five suitcases to Ilocos Norte.

Marcos

Buduan said he and his companions loaded the suitcases into a bulletproof Lexus, which was accompanied by a black bulletproof Toyota Hilux.

“Ikinarga po namin sa Lexus na bulletproof at saka bina-backupan po namin ng Hilux na bulletproof din,” he said.

Asked who the shipment was intended for, Buduan replied that he only heard it was for President Marcos.

“Ang narinig ko po noon ay para kay President Marcos, sir,” he said.

Buduan clarified that he and his group brought the suitcases to “Delta Gate,” while individuals identified as Sgt. Belnard Tube and “Boss Zaldy” (Zaldy Co) allegedly proceeded with the delivery to Ilocos Norte.

Belnard Tube said that he later traveled to Paoay, Ilocos Norte, but he could not provide the exact address of the property where they allegedly went because they arrived at night.

Tube described the location as a house near a body of water and said he saw photographs of former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. and members of the Marcos family inside the residence.

“Letter U na bahay,” Tube said, adding that family photographs and a telephone bearing the names of the Marcos family members were visible in the house.

When Senator Imee Marcos asked whether he saw members of the Marcos family during the visit, Tube claimed that Representative Sandro Marcos arrived first, followed by President Marcos, and First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos.

“Noong dumating po kami, sila-sila lang po. Nauna po si Cong. Sandro, then next po si President, then si First Lady,” he testified.

Tube further claimed that the group stayed overnight and returned to Manila the following morning.

Malacañang, in return, challenged the ex-Marines to present evidence for their allegations.

“Pakita muna nila ‘yung ebidensya. Madali kasing magturo, lalo na kung ang balak mo lang naman talaga ay mang-giba at magsilbing isang obstructionist or destabilizer,” Palace Press Officer Usec. Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Thursday.

(Let them present the evidence first. It's easy to point fingers, especially if you only intend to destroy an image and serve as an obstructionist or destabilizer.)

“So, dapat patunayan nila. Bigyan nila tayo ng dokumento at hindi ‘yung salita lamang,” she added.

(So, they should prove it. They should present documents as evidence instead of merely talking.)

Romualdez

During the questioning, Buduan also said that Leyte Rep. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was among the recipients of the suitcases they delivered. Buduan said he participated in the delivery of an estimated 60 to 70 “maletas” three to four times a week to various recipients.

Romualdez had denied receiving luggages of money. He also said that he "never received or benefited from kickbacks in any infrastructure project." He added he did not authorize anyone to engage in dealings that would taint his name.

Sotto

Meanwhile, Benny Bulontante claimed he was part of an advance team tasked to proceed to a building in Baclaran allegedly associated with Sotto before the arrival of Co and his companions.

“Nauna kami sa area kasi in-advise-an kami ng team leader namin na mag-proceed na sa building ni Tito Sotto sa Baclaran,” Bulontante told senators.

According to Bulontante, five large suitcases were brought to the location sometime in 2024 before the election campaign period.

He alleged that upon Co's arrival, the suitcases were transported through a basement area and loaded into an elevator together with several individuals accompanying Co.

Asked about the contents of the luggage, Bulontante claimed the suitcases contained cash.

“Pera po,” he said.

Bulontante said the five suitcases were all large-sized.

Sought for comment, Sotto said he will not dignify the accusation as he was not a senator from 2022 to 2025. He added that the person who allegedly received the supposed suitcases died in 2015.

He also called the hearing "a bogus investigation in aid of destabilisation."

Tulfo

During the hearing, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano also referred to testimony mentioning Tulfo.

Bernard Gumban claimed he personally participated in two deliveries allegedly intended for Tulfo.

“Nakapag-deliver po ako kay Senator Erwin Tulfo ng dalawang beses,” he said.

According to Gumban, the first delivery involved two suitcases, one small and one medium-sized, while the second involved six suitcases of varying sizes.

He claimed the deliveries were made to a residence in Greenhills.

When asked how he knew the house belonged to Tulfo, Gumban said he asked an individual identified as Mark Tecsay.

“Sabi ko, ‘Boss Mark, kaninong bahay ito?’ Sabi niya, ‘Kay Senator Erwin,’” Gumban recounted.

In a statement, Tulfo denied the allegations, saying even his accuser has gotten confused with the details.

"Una, sabi niya sa kanyang naunang sinumpaang salaysay, nag-deliver raw siya sa akin ng anim na medium-sized na maleta. Ngunit, galing na mismo sa kanyang bibig kanina na dalawa (2) at anim (6) na maleta ang kanyang idinedeklara," he said.

"Pangalawa, pati sa halaga ng diumano’y nilalaman ng mga maleta, NAGKAGULO-GULO NA. Sabi dati, kapag small, 15 to 25 million ang laman tapos ngayon, 20-25 million. Samantalang sa medium, 30 to 40 million sa affidavit, tapos 40-50 million naman ngayon. ANO BA TALAGA?" he added.

The senator noted that the accusers only picked the names they mentioned.

He added that what happened was not a simple investigation but a propaganda against him.

"Walang puwang sa Senado ang mga fake news at trolls. Sana nag-FB Live na lang kayo. Magkita-kita tayo sa lehitimong Blue Ribbon committee hearing," Tulfo said.

De Lima and others

Another witness claimed Castro frequently met with Co both at his congressional office and at a townhouse.

“Lagi kaming nagmi-meeting nila Boss Zaldy Co sa opisina niya sa Congress saka sa townhouse,” the witness said.

The witness alleged that after the meetings, Castro and others would leave carrying paper bags.

The same witness claimed that then Kabataan Party-list Representative Raoul Manuel and then Gabriela Party-list Representative Arlene Brosas were also present during some of the meetings.

Regarding De Lima, the witness alleged that she regularly attended meetings with Co at a townhouse and would also leave carrying items after the meetings.

“Si Leila de Lima, lagi po 'yan sa townhouse. Ka-meeting po sila, Boss. Tapos pagkatapos po niyan may dala-dala na rin po,” the witness said.

The witness added that some of the meetings allegedly occurred during the period of the House Quad Committee hearings.

De Lima and Fr. Flavie Villanueva earlier denied the accusations and even filed a complaint against the 18 personalities and their lawyer, Atty. Levito Baligod.

In a joint press statement, Castro, Manuel, and Brosas denounced the allegations, saying these are baseless and malicious and a desperate act of political demolition

"All they have are conjectures, vague insinuations, and outright lies, because they have no evidence of any wrongdoing by Makabayan. Anyone can produce a photo and make an outrageous claim, but these so-called witnesses have failed to present an iota of evidence that will hold up in any court. Nandadamay lang para sa kanilang pro-Duterte agenda," they said.

They added that their record of principled service and integrity, in and out of Congress, is untarnished by desperate lies.

"Let it be known that Makabayan cannot be involved in the flood control scam because we have no infrastructure projects nominated by our offices. Wala kaming projects, allocables or infrastructure insertions sa pangalan namin. Wala kaming matatanggap na anumang kickback dahil wala naman kaming proyekto," the former party-list representatives said.

Others also mentioned were Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, Rep. Joel Chua, Rep. Janette Garin, Rep. Benny Abante, Rep. Gerville Luistro, Rep. Jose Alvarez, as well as former lawmakers Stella Quimbo, Terry Ridon, Ace Barbers, and Dan Fernandez.

GMA News Online is trying to reach out to them for comment and will publish their statements once available.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, meanwhile, said that the allegations were significant.

“Mabigat sa atin 'to, dahil pinaniwalaan natin 'yung Blue Ribbon Committee na pinamunuan ni Sen. Lacson, but everyone knows mag-partner talaga 'yan, si Sen. Tito Sotto at Sen. Lacson,” Cayetano noted. —with a report from Giselle Ombay/AOL, GMA News