Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan was never named by former soldiers as a recipient of money-filled luggage, lawyer Levito Baligod said this week, walking back the impression created when an image of the senator surfaced during a gathering of men described as ex-couriers for resigned Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co.
Baligod, who serves as counsel for the group, addressed the matter in an interview on Bilyonaryo News Channel’s program “The Spokes.” He insisted the witnesses made no spoken accusation tying the senator to any cash handoff. “Walang sinabi ‘yung mga dating sundalo na tumanggap siya ng pera. It’s just a picture of employees of Misibis Aviation,” he said.
By his account, the photograph was meant to document the alleged use of helicopters and aircraft connected to Co during the 2025 campaign period, with Pangilinan and his wife, actress Sharon Cuneta, appearing in the frame. Baligod said the slide was misread as an allegation it was never intended to convey, recalling that he had directed the operator running the presentation to skip past it. “Prinesent ‘yung picture niya doon pero walang sinabi ang mga kwan. If you review the video coverage, walang sinabi ang mga sundalo,” he said.
The image was shown on June 16 during an event in Metro Manila led by Baligod and former Anakalusugan party-list Representative Mike Defensor, where a group of 18 men presented as Co’s former security aides aired corruption claims. Rappler reported that the gathering had been announced as a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing, but no senators turned up and it proceeded instead as a press briefing before an audience that included vloggers and supporters of former president Rodrigo Duterte.
During that briefing, several public figures were tagged as supposed recipients of kickbacks, among them Commission on Elections Chairman George Erwin Garcia and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero. Garcia rejected the claims outright and branded them false. A witness identified as Jeron Valderama, described as a former Marine, told the audience he had taken part in deliveries of cash to several personalities.
Pangilinan dismissed any link to the scandal, characterizing the material against him as insinuation and theatrics, and said he would bring the matter to court. The denial came as he was reported to be in line to chair a subcommittee tasked with continuing the flood control inquiry.
Cuneta, in a social media post, rejected the claims and called the people behind them liars. She said the photograph had been taken in Marawi after the May 2025 elections, during a visit to local officials in connection with her husband’s campaign, and had nothing to do with the kickback allegations.
Pressed on why the couple’s image had been included at all, and on whether the senator had ever accepted any bag of money, Baligod offered no definitive explanation. He maintained only that the witnesses had leveled no charge against Pangilinan from the outset, rejecting any suggestion that their statements about the senator had shifted.
