The 18 individuals claiming to be former Philippine Marine Corps personnel and alleged bagmen of former congressman Zaldy Co did not attend Monday’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects.
The hearing, chaired by newly-installed chairman Sen. Erwin Tulfo, proceeded on June 8 after being rescheduled from June 4 to allow lawmakers more time to review the list of resource persons and the process for their invitation.
According to Tulfo, the 18 individuals alleged former Marines were physically present inside the Senate building but chose not to attend the committee proceedings. Instead, they reportedly went to the office of Sen. Robin Padilla, where they held a separate press conference and livestreamed the event on Facebook.
“Yung labing-walong ex-bodyguards narito po sa building na ito nasa tanggapan ni Sen. Robin Padilla kasama po si Atty. Baligod,” Tulfo said during the 'consultative meeting.'
“Despite yung imbitasyon natin sa kanila na dumalo sa hearing mas minabuti po nilang magtungo sa opisina ni Senator Robin Padilla at doon po ika nga mag-monitor at maglive din… They are here in the building… pero ayaw po nila bumaba dito sa ating hearing,” he added
The 18 individuals were accompanied by their legal counsel, Atty. Levito Baligod, and were seen participating in the Facebook livestream from Padilla’s office while the Senate hearing was ongoing.
Tulfo instructed committee staff to formally request Padilla and the group to attend the hearing, stressing that the blue ribbon committee is the proper venue for their statements.
“Ito siguro ang tamang venue na, ika nga, magpahayag sila, hindi sa isang media conference,” he said.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee had invited several resource persons to the inquiry, including former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, Palawan Rep. Jose Alvarez, Iloilo Rep. Jullienne “Jam” Baronda, and Lanao del Sur Rep. Ziaur-Rhaman “Zia” Alonto Adiong.
Also invited were National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) officials led by Director Melvin Matibag, several Cabinet representatives.
Last week, a separate blue ribbon hearing led by Senators Alan Peter Cayetano and Rodante Marcoleta heard claims from the same group, during which they implicated several lawmakers, including Erwin Tulfo and Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, in the flood control scandal.
During Monday’s session, Tulfo reiterated his appeal for the group to present their statements directly before the committee instead of conducting parallel media briefings.
