The aide that self-described former Marines pointed to as the person who accepted suitcases of money on his behalf had already been dead for years when the alleged deliveries supposedly took place, Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said Thursday, June 4.
Sotto was reacting to testimony from Belnard Tube, one of 18 men presenting themselves as ex-Marines before a Blue Ribbon Committee session at the Senate. Tube told the panel he brought two cash-stuffed pieces of luggage to a building owned by Sotto in Baclaran, and that an assistant of the senator identified only as “Mark” took possession of them.
That account collapses on its own timeline, according to Sotto, who noted that the staffer in question is no longer alive. “OMG, noon pa ‘yan sinabi ko na. I will not dignify such because I was not a senator from 2022 to 2025. The name they mentioned na EA (executive assistant) ko daw na tumanggap ay is Mark. Mark died in 2015, ano ba!” he said. He has characterized the proceeding as a sham aimed at destabilization rather than a legitimate inquiry.
Tulfo points to shifting figures
Sen. Erwin Tulfo was named by a second witness, Bernard Gumban, who said he handed over six suitcases of cash at a residence in Greenhills. Tulfo rejected the claim outright and argued the accuser could not keep his own story straight.
“Malaking kasinungalingan ang mga naging paratang ni Bernard Gumban, isa sa mga nagpakilalang 18 ex-Marines, sa ginaganap na bogus Blue Ribbon Hearing. Sa sobrang daming kasinungalingan, siya mismo ay litong-lito,” Tulfo said in a statement. He has questioned why the witnesses could not pin down the source or purpose of the supposed funds, treating the gaps as proof of fabrication.
House members reject the same testimony
The accusations extended beyond the Senate to members of the House of Representatives, who likewise pushed back. Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said the statement implicating him, attributed to former Marine Jowly Cadiao, was untrue and that no luggage of any kind had ever been brought to him.
“Kasinungalingan ang testimonya ni Jowly Cadiao. Walang maleta na idineliver sa akin sa kahit anumang panahon o sa kahit saan mang lugar,” Ridon wrote on X. He tied his denial to the impeachment proceedings against the Vice President, insisting the House prosecution panel would not be deterred: “Tandaan: Tuloy ang impeachment trial. Walang kasinungalingan o gawa-gawang testimonya ang makapipigil sa House prosecution panel na magtuloy sa paglalahad ng katotohanan sa paglilitis ng Pangalawang Pangulo.”
ML Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima, who had already lodged libel and perjury complaints against the men, repeated her rejection of the claims. “Uulitin ko: Whether sa maleta, sa paper bag o anuman yan, wala akong tinatanggap na pera,” she wrote on X, adding that the inconsistencies in the testimony reflected invented accusations recycled through a questionable Senate setting.
The 18 men appeared as resource persons alongside their counsel, Levi Baligod, during a session attended by the bloc of Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who administered their oath. Senate records of the testimony remain in question, as the proceeding went forward without the Senate secretariat or stenographers present to document it.
