Jamaine Punzalan

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ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED) —  Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday flagged what he said was an attempt to “manipulate the timeline&quot; in the bribery claims that supposed former Marines made against several public officials. The 18, who claim to have been resigned congressman Zaldy Co&#x27;s security personnel and bagmen, say they delivered billions in pesos in kickbacks to top officials, including members of Congress.“But when we investigated that angle, it appears that this delivery was done during the time of Speaker Lord Velasco,” Remulla told reporters on Friday, referring to the Marinduque lawmaker who led the House from 2020 to 2022.Remulla said the inclusion in the &#x27;ex-Marines&#x27; affidavit of a photo showing a ‘suitcase being delivered’ is an attempt to distort the timeline of alleged events.“So, it&#x27;s not an entirely accurate depiction of even pictures. What you see here is really a manipulation of facts to make it appear that that was that. But actually they were playing with timelines, and this is one timeline that they played with that this happened before the term of President Marcos,” Remulla said. <div> </div><div>DEFENSOR &#x27;INSTRUMENTAL&#x27; IN PREPARATION OF AFFIDAVIT</div>Remulla said he believes former lawmaker Mike Defensor has been “called to task already by people concerned with that picture that was shown.&quot;He said that someone from the House has already reached out to Defensor, who was &quot;instrumental in putting together the affidavit&quot; to call attention to the photo.Remulla earlier asked lawyer Levito Baligod to submit 18 separate affidavits from each individual for a “more accurate and credible narration of facts.”He said the joint affidavit that the 18 men signed implies they were together during all the supposed deliveries. “Pero alam naman natin na hindi maaari mangyari yun. At 18 tao lagi ang kasama sa bawat pagkilos na naroon,” he added.The Ombudsman also deputized the National Bureau of Investigation to verify the identities and backgrounds of the affiants.ABS-CBN News has reached out to Defensor, Velasco, and Baligod, who serves as counsel for the 18 men, for comment on Remulla&#x27;s statements.Remulla also said that his office will use to artificial intelligence to help sift through 200 storage boxes of data turned over by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.&quot;We will just use this as a guide. It will not be the one to define our work, but it&#x27;s a guide that we can use to make sure that we&#x27;re able to scrutinize the data or the details within the data that will make or break a case,&quot; he said. <div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/3/13/matibag-ex-marines-mum-during-nbi-appearance-1145">Matibag says &#x27;ex-Marines&#x27; mum during NBI appearance</a></div>

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday flagged what he said was an attempt to “manipulate the timeline" in the bribery claims that supposed former Marines made against several public officials.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla on Friday flagged what he said was an attempt to “manipulate the timeline" in the bribery claims that supposed former Marines made against several public officials.

Remulla says photo in affidavit of 'ex-Marines' is from before Marcos admin

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Remulla says photo in affidavit of 'ex-Marines' is from before Marcos admin

ABS-CBN News

Published March 13, 2026 03:12 PM PHT

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Updated March 13, 2026 04:45 PM PHT

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Remulla

bribery

Marines

ex Marines

Zaldy Co

Lord Allan Velasco

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