Marilyn Cahatol

Eighteen ex-Marines testify at a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the flood control controversy, which was called by the Cayetano bloc on June 4, 2026. The Marines claimed that they were once assigned to the security detail of former House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Zaldy Co and were instructed to deliver money to certain politicians.   Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

SENATE -CAYETANO BLOC- BLUE RIBBON

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/178080452354320260604-senate-cayetano-bloc-blue-ribbon-marines-MT8.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Eighteen ex-Marines testify at a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the flood control controversy, which was called by the Cayetano bloc on June 4, 2026. The Marines claimed that they were once assigned to the security detail of former House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Zaldy Co and were instructed to deliver money to certain politicians. <em>Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The 18 &quot;bagmen&quot; who testified at the the Cayetano bloc&#x27;s Blue Ribbon Committee last Thursday may soon face new complaints over their allegations linking more politicians to corruption in flood-control projects.</p><p>Senators allied with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano conducted what they said was a hearing last week, where men who said they used to deliver kickback money for former congressman Zaldy Co named alleged recipients of cash in suitcases.</p><p>Among those they linked were President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., former Speaker Martin Romualdez, Sens. Vicente Sotto III and Erwin Tulfo, House members like Mamamayang Liberal Party-List Rep. Leila de Lima and former members of the Makabayan bloc.</p><p>Sotto has said he <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/6/sotto-to-file-raps-vs-18-witnesses-remulla-questions-cayetano-bloc-brc-hearing-1611">will file libel and cyberlibel complaints</a> against the 18 supposed witnesses.</p><p>He questioned the timeline the individuals presented, noting that he was not a government official in 2024, when the alleged transactions supposedly took place. </p><p>The former Senate president unseated by Cayetano also denied claims involving a supposed member of his staff named “Mark.&quot;</p><p>He said the only member of his staff with name died in 2015.</p><p>“I will decide who to charge by Monday. It might include the persons who brought and coached some of the 18 ex-bodyguards,” Sotto told ABS-CBN News.</p><p>Tulfo meanwhile said the &quot;witness&quot; who tagged him could not keep up with his own “lies.”</p><p>He said he will also file a libel case on Monday, after the scheduled Blue Ribbon hearing he will lead as the panel’s new chair.</p><p>Sen. Panfilo Lacson, former chair of the Blue Ribbon committee, said the senators who led the supposed hearing last Thursday could also face legal consequences over for cyber libel and Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code, which penalizes individuals who perform official acts without lawful authority.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/7/malaca-ang-sees-usurpation-of-authority-in-cayetano-bloc-blue-ribbon-hearing-1207">Malacañang sees ‘usurpation of authority&#x27; in Cayetano bloc Blue Ribbon hearing<br/></a></div><p>The Cayetano bloc conducted the hearing despite Acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian saying it had been postponed to Monday and that Tulfo would lead it.</p><p>Batangas 2nd District Rep. Gerville Luistro confirmed she has filed complaints against the supposed bagmen, noting that the accusations were “designs to destroy her credibility” as the lead prosecutor in the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte.</p><p>De Lima also said she had previously responded to the allegations and had filed criminal complaints against them.</p><p>Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong, as well as former House members France Castro, Arlene Brosas and Raoul Manuel also denied the allegations.</p><p>The former Makabayan lawmakers called their inclusion in the list “a desperate act of political demolition” as they stressed they had no projects, insertions or amendments in the first place.</p><p>The Society of the Divine Word (SVD), which Fr. Flavie Villanueva is part of, said it has initiated legal actions against those who tagged the priest in the flood control scandal.</p><p>The congregation also clarified that there was <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/5/no-svd-church-matches-claims-of-ex-marine-groups-say-0040">no parish, church or ministry center along Mindanao Avenue</a>, where the “witnesses” claimed the kickbacks were delivered.</p><p>The 18 self-acclaimed former Marines first emerged on February 24, assisted by their legal counsel Levito Baligod and former lawmaker Mike Defensor. </p><p>The Philippine Navy has said four of the 18 individuals were <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/25/ph-navy-4-of-18-presented-as-bagmen-were-never-marines-0910">never part </a>of the Philippine Marine Corps (PMC), while the rest were dishonorably discharged. </p><p>On Wednesday, Iloilo City Rep. Julienne Baronda said she had <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/3/iloilo-rep-files-cyberlibel-complaint-vs-ex-marines-lawyer-1700">filed a cyberlibel complaint</a> at the Department of Justice against Baligod and the 18 “bagmen”. </p><p>Baronda was among those the supposed witnesses earlier alleged to have received kickbacks from the flood control scandal.</p><p>Last March, former Sen.Antonio Trillanes, Bureau of Corrections Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang and then-National Security Adviser Eduardo Año also filed various complaints against the supposed bagmen, Baligod and Defensor. <strong>—With reports from Allison Co and Adrian Ayalin, ABS-CBN News</strong></p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/6/5/gatchalian-bloc-blue-ribbon-committee-invites-18-alleged-bagmen-to-june-8-hearing-1403">Gatchalian bloc Blue Ribbon Committee invites 18 alleged bagmen to June 8 hearing</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W9Wi3SF6l38?si=sVJvUy8Hhy4kSTcC" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>Several new complaints against the 18 "bagmen" loom following their allegations linking more politicians to the flood control kickback scheme during the Cayetano bloc's Blue Ribbon "hearing" last Thursday.</p>

Several new complaints against the 18 "bagmen" loom following their allegations linking more politicians to the flood control kickback scheme during the Cayetano bloc's Blue Ribbon "hearing" last Thursday.

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More raps loom vs 18 'bagmen' over flood control claims

Marilyn Cahatol,

ABS-CBN News

Published June 07, 2026 12:41 PM PHT

Read More:

flood control

18 bagmen

Blue Ribbon

complaints

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