Blue Ribbon may still summon ‘ex-Marines’

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March 14, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The Senate Blue Ribbon committee is still open to holding a hearing on the alleged money delivery scheme – as claimed by 16 “ex-Marines” and two other alleged soldiers – as long as they tell the truth and not turn it into a circus, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson has said.

Lacson said he found it incredible that the 18 alleged men of fugitive lawmaker Zaldy Co were able to deliver, by land and air, P805 billion in cash – weighing 805 metric tons – as proceeds from flood control corruption.

“While the Blue Ribbon committee’s doors are not closed to them, they just need to correct their statements so the hearing does not turn into a circus,” the senator, who chairs the panel, said.

Had it been at least P80 billion in kickbacks and not a whopping P805 billion, it would have been more believable, and he would have opened a Blue Ribbon inquiry immediately, Lacson said.

He urged their lawyer Levito Baligod to correct the inconsistencies, even if it would mean admission of lying, so that their version of events would be credible to merit an inquiry.

“They must think about it carefully. They can retract their initial statements and say they overlooked some details. The important thing is to bring their statements closer to reality so that the Blue Ribbon committee will not be entertaining lies. Just correct your affidavits and bring them closer to the truth, and I’ll call a hearing,” Lacson said.

“For now, it is clear that parts of their statements are impossible, such as the P805 billion, which insults Filipinos’ intelligence,” he added.

Lacson said the Blue Ribbon committee’s partial committee report still needs five signatures before it can be reported to the plenary for approval.

He said he plans to convince more members of the majority bloc to sign it so he can have the majority nine signatures from the 17-member committee.

Four senators, so far, have signed the report: Lacson, Bam Aquino, Risa Hontiveros and Francis Pangilinan.

NBI approach

Sixteen of the 18 ex-Marines appeared before the NBI on Thursday to comply with a subpoena issued last week, stemming from a joint affidavit alleging that they delivered suitcases of flood-control kickbacks to President Marcos, former speaker Martin Romualdez and Co.

Former lawmaker Mike Defensor and his wife Julie also appeared with their counsel, Ferdinand Topacio.

Topacio, who is facing a disbarment case over risqué remarks directed at Gabriela Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago, scolded the NBI’s leadership for focusing on the “whistleblowers” rather than the personalities named in their affidavit.

The controversial lawyer also questioned the NBI’s motive in attempting to question the ex-soldiers individually.

“What the NBI’s current leadership is doing is harassment and intimidation,” Topacio told reporters on Thursday. “The NBI is composed of very professional men and women who, I’m sure, would rather be investigating anomalies than investigating whistleblowers.” — EJ Macababbad, Ghio Ong