Jonathan Frederic De Santos

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro. PCO press briefing/Screenshot/File

Article (news)

Jervis Manahan

Bianca Dava

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED)— The Palace has described claims made by lawyer Levi Baligod and 18 supposed former Marines who supposedly delivered money to top officials as &quot;lousy scriptwriting.&quot;On Tuesday, Baligod and the 18 men claimed they served as bagmen who delivered P805 billion to President Marcos Jr, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of Leyte, and former lawmaker Zaldy Co.They said they had worked as Co&#x27;s security personnel and as his bagmen.&quot;Paulit-ulit na kasinungalingan laban sa Pangulo. Lousy script, hindi pang-award winning. Hindi malinis, alam mo na may kasinungalingan,&quot; Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said.(Repeated lies against the president. It&#x27;s a lousy script that won&#x27;t win awards. It&#x27;s poorly done and you know it is a lie)The Palace official also speculated that the owner of the vehicle that fetched the men after a press conference on Tuesday is the person behind the claims.She did not name anyone, but said they are the &quot;same people&quot; behind similar claims against Marcos Jr. and other administration officials.<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/25/imee-seeks-probe-into-claims-by-ex-marines-who-say-they-were-zaldy-co-s-bagmen-1303">Imee seeks probe into claims by &#x27;ex-Marines&#x27; who say they were Zaldy Co&#x27;s bagmen </a></div>Asked if the Palace will file complaints against Baligod and the so-called Marines, she said that it is up to the police and the National Bureau of Investigation to build up cases against people spreading &quot;fake news&quot; — an old term for disinformation.&quot;Dapat pa ba silang utusan? Hindi po, obligasyon ng NBI, PNP, (Department of Justice),&quot; Castro said.(Do they need orders to do that? No, that is the obligation of the NBI, PNP, DOJ)<div> </div><div>DENIALS</div>The allegations have prompted a call for the Senate to hold an inquiry but has also prompted denials from people that the supposed Marines allegedly delivered money to.Former Reps. France Castro (ACT Teachers), Arlene Brosas (Gabriela), and Raoul Manuel (Kabataan) on Wednesday called the claims &quot;a desperate attempt&quot; to divert attention from proceedings against former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court and pending impeachment complaints against his daughter Vice President Sara Duterte.&quot;Malinaw ang track record ng Makabayan na hindi nagpapayaman sa puwesto,&quot; they said as they denied allegations.(Makabayan has a clear track record of not using government positions to make ourselves rich.)Other lawmakers denounced the allegations as &quot;lies&quot; and questioned the timing of the supposed ex-Marines.&quot;Mahirap talaga pag mayroon kang sariling mundo. Delulu tawag sa mga ganyan. Hindi natin masyadong binibigyan ng pansin, dahil wala naman pong katotohanan ‘yun. ‘Wag tayong delulu,&quot; said House Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega.&quot;It&#x27;s an unsigned affidavit. It is according to the narratives of those who have been dishonorably discharged... I&#x27;m sorry, pero it&#x27;s bullsh*t. It&#x27;s a complete bullsh*t,&quot; said House Assistant Majority Leader Zia Alonto Adiong, for his part.ML Party List Representative Leila de Lima expressed her belief that the claims were made in an effort to &quot;divert attention&quot; from the on-going confirmation of charges hearing against former president Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court, as well as the impeachment complaint against his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte.&quot;These cheap and laughable moves are squid tactics to distract us from the real issue: the reckoning of the Dutertes,&quot; de Lima said.&quot;They can’t even do it properly! They can only get dubious, discredited personalities like Jay Sonza, Mike Defensor, and Levi Baligod to spearhead their amateurish yet seemingly well-funded operation,&quot; she added, calling the claims a &quot;clear demolition job.&quot;MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre, a former PNP chief who was also mentioned in Baligod&#x27;s affidavit declined comment for now.&quot;Baka mamaya, at the end of the day, sasabihin &#x27;joke only&#x27; iyan eh,&quot; he said.(They might just say at the end of the day that it is all a joke.)<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/25/ph-navy-4-of-18-presented-as-bagmen-were-never-marines-0910">PH Navy: 4 of 18 presented as ‘bagmen’ were never Marines</a></div><div> </div><div> </div><div>AFP: NO MILITARY PERSONNEL ASSIGNED TO ZALDY CO</div>The Armed Forces of the Philippines meanwhile clarified that no military security detail was ever assigned to Co.It also stressed that the supposed former Marines were no longer in the military at the time of the supposed incidents.“On the side of the AFP, on what we can contribute through proper legal channels and legal forums, we will coordinate and help accordingly,” AFP spokesperson Col. Francel Margareth Padilla said in a press conference.She added that while the Presidential Security Command provides security, hat is only for the president, the vice president, and the First Family.“So, what is deemed necessary for us to [provide security] detail to certain personalities—that would be depending on kung ano yung entitlements ng individuals,” she said. “Yung mga congressman, walang ganoon (Congressmen are not entitled to that).”The Philippine Navy has also made clear that four of the supposed former Marines had never been part of the corps or the navy.Capt. Marissa Arlene Martinez, PN spokesperson, added a majority of those presented were dishonorably discharged from the service.Padilla also underscored that the men are no longer in the military and that their statements and alleged actions “[do] not represent the Armed Forces of the Philippines.” The AFP urged the public to verify information and allow proper legal processes to address the allegations.“Let&#x27;s let the legal entities do their jobs dito sa usaping ito,” Padilla said.

The Palace has described claims made by lawyer Levi Baligod and 18 supposed former Marines who supposedly delivered money to top officials as 'lousy scriptwriting'.

The Palace has described claims made by lawyer Levi Baligod and 18 supposed former Marines who supposedly delivered money to top officials as 'lousy scriptwriting'.

Palace dismisses new 'bagmen' claim as 'lousy scriptwriting'

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Palace dismisses new 'bagmen' claim as 'lousy scriptwriting'

Jervis Manahan,

Bianca Dava,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 25, 2026 03:39 PM PHT

|

Updated February 25, 2026 04:16 PM PHT

Read More:

Palace

Claire Castro

Levi Baligod

Zaldy Co

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