Marcoleta calls Guteza recantation 'spurious,' cites alleged family threats

Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Friday denied conspiring with former Marine Orly Guteza, who recently recanted his earlier statement that he delivered suitcases of cash to former Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez in connection with the flood control scandal.

In a statement posted on Facebook through his administrator, Marcoleta described Guteza’s new affidavit as “spurious,” saying it “contains a narration of events that is both physically implausible and/or psychologically improbable.”

“It is improbable for me to conspire with Guteza, then a complete stranger to me. It is improbable for myself and Rep. Defensor to concoct a detailed account of the massive transport of money in luggages within one hour in a restaurant,” Marcoleta said.

“It is implausible that within a few minutes of my arrival at said restaurant and getting introduced to Guteza, I could have probed his character, developed complete trust and confidence in him, acquainted myself with the details of his narrative, re-wrote his account, instructed him on the succeeding steps, and then dashed back to the Senate,” he added.

Marcoleta, who is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail on plunder charges, also alleged that threats to the life and liberty of Guteza’s wife and children forced the former Marine to change his statement.

Nevertheless, Marcoleta said Guteza’s recantation was “understandable” given his alleged circumstances.

“My respect for MSgt. Guteza has not been diminished by the release of his completely different statement on August 19, 2026. It was unsurprisingly expected as it was obviously understandable given the ordeal he was subjected to,” Marcoleta said.

Guteza had previously claimed that he personally delivered cash to the residences of former lawmaker Zaldy Co and Romualdez.

Following his testimony, Guteza disappeared from public view.

He later executed a new affidavit claiming that Marcoleta and former congressman Mike Defensor had tapped him to fabricate accusations against Romualdez in exchange for money and scholarships for his children.

Aside from Guteza, four other former security aides of Co have recanted statements linking Romualdez and other personalities to the alleged flood control scam.

Marcoleta further alleged that shortly after Guteza testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in September 2025, he was “virtually rendered incommunicado” and “held under the custody of persons only he can identify.”

“And then he was made to sign and read out in camera a different statement forcing him to deny knowledge of what he earlier testified and to accuse me and former Rep. Mike Defensor of orchestration upon ‘bribe’ of money,” he said.

According to Marcoleta, Guteza told his wife that the new statement “was not his,” but that he had to sign it “to spare his family from potential danger.”

“Finally, his wife admitted that indeed their family was being subjected to threats by the same persons restricting his movement and liberty,” he added.

Marcoleta maintained that Guteza’s testimony during the September 2025 hearing was a “detailed account of his personal knowledge of the plunderous acts” allegedly committed by Romualdez and several others.

“[T]he other statement attributed to Guteza only asserts a general denial, one which contains no evidentiary value (People v. Manlapaz, G.R. No. 254747, 13 July 2022), especially when compared to a detailed account of personal knowledge by the same witness,” Marcoleta said. —VBL, GMA News