Erwin Tulfo files defamation complaint vs Defensor, Baligod, ex-bodyguards

Senator Erwin Tulfo on Wednesday filed fresh grave oral defamation complaint against ex-Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Michael Defensor, lawyer Levi Baligod, and other members of the so-called "18 ex-Marines" over their accusations he was involved in the anomalous flood control scandal.

Tulfo personally arrived at the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor's Office to lodge the grave oral defamation complaint in relation to Article 358 of the Revised Penal Code in relation to Section 6 of the CyberCrime Prevention Act of 2012 against the respondents "for publicly uttering defamatory statements imputing serious criminal conduct against me, thereby subjecting me to unnecessary public contempt, ridicule, and disrepute which accusation were streamlined via social media."

"Kahit sino pa yun mga pumunta pa dun sa Congress at kung ano-ano ang sinasabi na tumanggap ng maleta...bakit ako tatanggap ng maleta eh wala nga akong flood control?" Tulfo told reporters.

(They even went to the Congress to say I received suitcases filled with cash. Why would I do that if I am not involved in flood control?)

"Eh na nung unang hearing pa lang ng flood control andun na pangalan ko? Wala man lang name ko sa GAA (General Appropriations Act) since 2023 when I became a Congressman. Upon joining the Senate, wala rin naman ako sa GAA, or even NEP -- National Expenditure Program-- dapat naka-care of doon.

Wala naman ako. Wala ako infra, flood control or farm-to-market road. Wala. None at all," he said.

(They did not implicate me in the first hearing. My name was excluded in the GAA since 2023 when I became a congressman and upon joining the Senate. I was not even in the NEP. I don't have any infra, flood control, or farm-to-market road projects under my name.)

Tulfo added,"I didn't get any, even a single centavo from government projects. Wala. Why will I get this so much money from Zaldy Co? Wala akong nakuha at all".

(I didn't get any, even a single centavo from government projects. Why will I get this so much money from Zaldy Co when I don't have any projects?)

To recall, the 18 individuals claiming to be former members of Marines alleged in a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing led by Senator Rodante Marcoleta that they delivered suitcases of money to Tulfo along with other lawmakers including Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III, Representative Leila de Lima, and former Rep. France Castro, among others.

In June, Tulfo also filed an oral defamation complaint with the Pasay City prosecutors against three former bodyguards of former lawmaker Zaldy Co over allegations of cash deliveries and trafficking. — RSJ, GMA News