10 'maleta boys' walk free after posting bail

After being detained on perjury charges, 10 “maleta boys” — former bodyguards of ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co — were released on Saturday upon posting bail.

In a Super Radyo dzBB report from Mao dela Cruz, the 10 bodyguards could be seen exiting the Las Piñas City Police Station.

The bodyguards' counsel Levito Baligod also announced a successful posting of bail in a Facebook post while thanking the Saturday court that processed them.

“Naka-pyansa at nakalabas na po ang B14 (Brave 14),” Baligod said. (The Brave 14 have posted bail.)

At least 10 of the maleta boys were arrested after failing to post bail on Friday. Meanwhile, three others successfully posted bail on time, averting arrest.

There were originally 18 former bodyguards who implicated various personalities in the flood control corruption scheme. They initially claimed that they were the ones who delivered bags of cash to different high-ranking officials, even tagging President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Several of the people that the bodyguards tagged in the flood control scheme have denied the tags, lodging perjury charges against them. Each bodyguard faced at least four counts of perjury each, which equated to an individual bail of P72,000.

However, four of them have since recanted their testimonies. —Jean Mangaluz/KG, GMA News