Jauhn Etienne Villaruel

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Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1780551985112Screen Shot 2026-06-04 at 8.36.06 AM (6).jpg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Sen. Alan Peter S. Cayetano speaks with outgoing Senate President Vicente Sotto during the plenary session on Monday, May 11, 2026.   <em>Voltaire Domingo, Senate Social Media Unit/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — Senator Vicente &quot;Tito&quot; Sotto III on Thursday denied allegations that he received kickbacks from flood control projects, saying the accusations raised during a Senate hearing were riddled with inconsistencies and lacked credibility.</p><p>The allegations surfaced during a flood control inquiry where several individuals claiming to be former members of the Philippine Marines alleged that funds linked to flood control projects were distributed to politicians and other personalities.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/4/gatchalian-resource-persons-won-t-be-allowed-to-enter-senate-on-thursday-0948">Cayetano-led hearing tags Sotto, Tulfo in flood control mess</a></div><p>Sotto questioned the timeline presented by the witnesses, noting that he was not a government official in 2024, the period when the alleged transactions supposedly took place.</p><p>&quot;First of all, if you&#x27;re talking in 2024, I was not a government official in 2024. Campaign period, 2024, hindi pa,&quot; Sotto said in an ANC interview on Thursday.</p><p>He also refuted claims that a limousine belonging to businessman and former congressman Zaldy Co had entered the basement of a building supposedly associated with him to deliver money.</p><p>&quot;They said a limousine of Zaldy Co entered the basement of my building. First of all, I do not have a building. We have a PR office in a building near Baclaran, that&#x27;s one. A limo will not fit in the basement of that building,&quot; he said.</p><p>Sotto likewise disputed testimony mentioning a staff member named &quot;Mark.&quot;</p><p>&quot;They mentioned something about my EA, a certain Mark. I only have one Mark, Mark Rosales, who died in 2015,&quot; he said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rw4CNzaMtho?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>He also denied claims involving his supposed security personnel.</p><p>&quot;They said that a security officer of Senator Sotto. I&#x27;ve never had security from 1992 to present. And I was not even a senator in 2024,&quot; he said.</p><p>While Sotto ran for senator in the 2025 midterm elections, he said the allegations that he received campaign funds from flood control kickbacks did not make sense.</p><p>&quot;We were not even sure of running for 2025. Around 2024, even during the last two or three months of 2024. Why will I be given flood control money for campaign when I&#x27;m not in office?&quot; he said.</p><p>He also cast doubt on claims that he received between P40 million and P70 million in cash delivered in suitcases.</p><p>&quot;Second, P40 to P70 million daw na maleta. I have yet to see a suitcase where P40 million will fit,&quot; he added.</p><p>Sotto also denied allegations that he had received money from House Speaker Martin Romualdez or the Malacañang.</p><p>&quot;No, never,&quot; he said.</p><p>The senator maintained that all funds used during his 2025 campaign were properly declared.</p><p>&quot;All the money I spent for the 2025 elections are in my Statement of Contributions and Expenditures. It&#x27;s all there, including all the personal money that I spent,&quot; he said.</p><p>Given what he described as glaring inconsistencies in the testimony, Sotto said the allegations should not be taken seriously.</p><p>&quot;I think we should just throw it away in a waste basket,&quot; he said.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/4/commotion-breaks-out-among-remulla-padilla-cayetano-1118">Commotion breaks out among Remulla, Padilla, Cayetano</a></div><p>Sotto added that even assuming he had received money during the period mentioned by the witnesses, he was a private citizen at the time and held no public office.</p><p>He also stressed that he and Sen. Panfilo Lacson have long maintained a policy against accepting questionable contributions.</p><p>&quot;Senator Lacson and I do not receive any bribes or accept any contributions if we know that it comes from illegitimate sources,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Anong pabor ang mahihingi sa amin sa 2025 e ang titigas ng ulo namin, ang hirap namin kausap pagdating sa pera. Anong mapapala nila sa amin?&quot; he added.</p><p>The veteran lawmaker described the accusations as baseless and politically motivated.</p><p>&quot;Napakasama nung mga insinuation na &#x27;yun. They are clutching at straws, mga huling hininga,&quot; Sotto said.</p><p>The allegations emerged amid the Senate&#x27;s ongoing inquiry into alleged irregularities in flood control projects, which has featured testimony from various witnesses claiming knowledge of the alleged misuse of government funds.</p><p>A day earlier, newly elected Blue Ribbon Committee chair Sen. Erwin Tulfo <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/3/tulfo-says-blue-ribbon-flood-control-probe-to-resume-on-june-8-1640">announced</a> that the official committee probe would continue on Monday, June 9. </p><p>Tulfo also questioned the process by which resource persons were invited to Thursday&#x27;s hearing and said invitations should first be reviewed by committee members before being made public.</p><p>Sotto has not been charged with any offense in connection with the allegations.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SqNDXJTqz48?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Thursday denied allegations that he received millions of pesos in kickbacks from flood control projects, saying the accusations raised during a Senate hearing were riddled with inconsistencies and lacked credibility.</p>

Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Thursday denied allegations that he received millions of pesos in kickbacks from flood control projects, saying the accusations raised during a Senate hearing were riddled with inconsistencies and lacked credibility.

Sotto denies kickback allegations bared during Cayetano-led hearing

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Sotto denies kickback allegations bared during Cayetano-led hearing

Chalssea Kate Echegoyen,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 04, 2026 01:58 PM PHT

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Updated June 04, 2026 03:42 PM PHT

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flood control

tito sotto

panfilo lacson

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