THE 18 former marines named several House lawmakers, senators, and former Cabinet secretaries who allegedly received luggage containing millions worth of cash.
During Senator Pia Cayetano-led Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on anomalous flood control projects, lawyer Levi Baligod, the legal counsel of the 18 ex-marines, submitted to the panel the consolidated affidavit of the former soldiers who claimed to have served as driver and security detail of fugitive former Ako-Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co.
Aside from being driver/bodyguard, also part of their job is to deliver “trash” as “basurero.”
Based on the affidavit of the ex-marines, trash refers to cash.
Aside from former House Speaker Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, the 18 ex-marines also named the following individuals as those who received money from Co:
Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III
Former congressman now Senator Erwin Tulfo
Department of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel
Former Department of Budget Management Amenah Pangandaman
Former Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan
Former ACT Teachers party-list representative France Castro
Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative Leila de Lima
Ilocos Representative Sandro Marcos
Batangas Second District Representative Gerville Luistro
Bicol Saro party-list Representative Terry Ridon
Gabriela Representative Arlene Brosas
Manila Representative Benny Abante
Lanao del Sur Representative Zia Adiong
Palawan Second District Representative Jose Alvarez
Former Surigao del Norte representative Ace Barbers
Uswag Ilonggo Representative Jojo Ang
Iloilo Representative Julienne Baronda
Solid North Representative Ching Bernos
Pampanga Third District Representative Dong Gonzales
Zambales First District Representative Jay Khonghun
La Union First District Representative Paolo Ortega
Former Manila representative Joseph Paduano
Quezon City Second District Representative Jayjay Suarez
Zamboanga Representative Mannix Delipe
Manila Third District Representative Joel Chua
Former Sta. Rosa Laguna representative Dan Fernandez
House Deputy Speaker Iloilo Representative Janet Garin
Former Kabataan representative Raoul Manuel
Former Marikina representative Stella Quimbo
Fr. Flavie Villanueva
The ex-marines said the deliveries are being made either to the houses of the said personalities, to the House of Representatives, and in a townhouse in Forbes Park.
“’Yung sa (House of Representatives) po lagi po kaming nagdadala diyan isang van po na bullet proof, puno po, ay hindi naman po puno. Doon po namin nilalagay mga paper bag po,” Rosebert Waupan said.
(We always bring one bulletproof van to the House of Representatives. It’s full -- well, not exactly full. That’s where we place the paper bags.)
“Nagmi-meeting po sila sa opisina ni Boss Zaldy, then pagkatapos po noon, makikita po namin na ‘yung mga dala naming paper bag, dala-dala na po nila. Bitbit na po nila. Kung hindi man po sila, ‘yung EA po nila,” he added.
(They would hold meetings in Boss Zaldy’s office, and afterward, we would see that the paper bags we had brought were already being carried away. They would be carrying them themselves, or if not, their executive assistants (EAs) would be carrying them.)
Belnard Tube also said he personally accompanied Co in delivering five luggage of cash to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in Ilocos using an aircraft owned by his former boss sometime in 2022.
He said First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their son Sandro were also in the house where they spent a night.
Bernard Gumban said he was personally involved in the delivery of cash placed inside suitcases to Tulfo twice in his residence in Greenhills -- two and six luggage, respectively, along with Co’s executive assistant Mark Ticsay.
Waupan said he was also involved in providing security to International Criminal Court (ICC) members during their visit in the country sometime in 2023 and 2024.
He said Co covered all the expenses of the ICC members staying in the country.
“December 2023 unang dumating po ‘yung ang pagkakaalam namin bisita ni boss Zaldy Co. Ang pagkakaalam namin sabi ni Mark Ticsay sa amin may bisitang paparating si boss na mga foreigner, which later on nalaman naming mga investigator po ng ICC,” Waupan said.
(In December 2023, as far as we knew, the first visitors of Boss Zaldy Co arrived. Mark Ticsay told us that Boss had some foreign visitors coming. Later on, we learned that they were investigators from the ICC.)
“Nakita po namin sa TV si Chantal Daniels nag-appear po doon sa TV, siya po ‘yung napicturean ko na ineescortan po namin dito,” he added.
(We saw Chantal Daniels appear on television. She was the person I had photographed and whom we had escorted here.)
Waupan said they accompanied the ICC members in a meeting in a hotel in Makati with former senator Antonio Trillanes IV.
He said they also held a meeting in a townhouse in Forbes Park with Romualdez, Co, and Trillanes.
Waupan also provided photos of ICC members during their stay in the Philippines.
“Bumalik po sila October 2024 at doon na po naming nakita ang sunod-sunod namin na activity namin sa Midas kasi yun po ang ginawa nilang venue ng investigation ng mga foreigner. Nakita po namin doon ang mga witness na kanilang iniinterview. Magbigay po ako ng example, katulad ni Jed Mabilog po, ako po ang nagsundo sa lobby ng Midas at nag-akyat ko po sa 10th floor kung saan nandon po ang mga foreigner,” he said.
(They returned in October 2024, and that was when we began to witness a series of activities at the Midas Hotel, which they used as the venue for the foreigners’ investigation. We saw the witnesses they were interviewing there. To give one example, there was Jed Mabilog. I personally fetched him from the lobby of the Midas Hotel and escorted him to the 10th floor, where the foreigners were.)
Mabilog was dismissed by the Ombudsman in 2017 and was tagged by former President Rodrigo Duterte as a narco-politician.
In September 2024, Mabilog returned to the country from the United States and surrendered to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
Following his surrender, Mabilog faced the House of Representatives’ quad committee investigation on the possible link between the proliferation of illegal operations of Pogos, illegal drug trade, anomalous land acquisitions and extrajudicial killings (EJKs) during the administration of former President Duterte, who is currently under the custody of the ICC due to alleged crimes against humanity in the country during the implementation of the drug war.
In January 2025, Marcos granted Mabilog an executive clemency and later appointed him as a Department of the Interior and Local Government undersecretary in May 2026.
Tube also recalled an instance where he claimed he accompanied Co in a money exchange office in Makati where they bought US dollars’ worth P50 million to P60 million.
He said they put it in one luggage and handed it over to Romualdez, who was then in a meeting with Trillanes and the ICC judges.
“Kasi kung pinalit mo ng dollar, gagamitin ng hindi Pilipino kasi tayo ang gamit natin sarili nating pera,” Blue Ribbon sub-committee head Senator Rodante Marcoleta said.
(Because if you convert it to dollars, it would be used by non-Filipinos, since we use our own currency.)
Joely Cadiao said he personally delivered cash to Villanueva in a church in Mindanao Avenue in Quezon City, as well as Ridon in President Tower.
Benny Boluntate and Rodante Orbillo said they delivered five large luggage containing cash worth around P50 million to P70 million to Sotto in a building in Baclaran sometime in 2024, during the election period for the 2025 national and local polls.
The 18 ex-marines first went public in February 2026 to corroborate the statements made by their comrade, retired Sergeant Orly Guteza, who earlier testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee investigation on the irregularities in the implementation of flood control projects.
Guteza said from December 5, 2024 to August 2025, when he served as one of Co’s security personnel, he delivered luggage containing millions worth of “trash,” to Romualdez’s residences in Pasig and Taguig at least three times.
Guteza is currently nowhere to be found amid reports that he was harassed and forced to retract his statement.
Following Guteza’s revelation and before their public appearance, Bulontante said former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Nicolas Torre talked to them and tried to convince them to write an affidavit belying the claims of Guteza.
He said five of them gave in to Torre’s pressure and signed a prepared affidavit.
He said they were given P50,000 each.
Bulontante said they were again called by Torre and asked them to surrender their cellular phones in exchange for a new phone.
“Kasi nandoon ‘yung mga picture namin na nakasave sa cellphone namin. Meron po kaming naka-save sa iCloud po namin kaya kahit basagin ang cellphone ko, makukuha ko pa rin sa ibang cellphone,” he said, explaining how they are able to retrieve several photos attached to their affidavit.
(Because our photos are saved on our phones. We also have them saved in iCloud, so even if my phone is broken, I can still retrieve them from another phone.)
The ex-marines said they came forward in order for the truth to come out.
“Pinilit na rin po naming pumunta dito para isiwalat po ang katotohanan na nangyayari dito sa ating bayan sa pondo ng bayan, dahil kami ang nagde-deliver ng male-maletang pera at aming natuklasan na ito pala ay pera ng taongbayan. Sa madaling salita, ito po ay isang sindikato. Hindi kami aatras sa laban na ito dahil ang sinasabi po namin ay totoo,” Walter Manalansan said.
(We were also compelled to come here to reveal the truth about what is happening in our country regarding public funds, because we were the ones delivering suitcase after suitcase of money, and we later discovered that this was actually the people’s money. In other words, this is a syndicate. We will not back down from this fight because what we are saying is true.)
“Ang nag-udyok talaga sa amin dito kung bakit kami nandito ngayon even though sa mga nangyayari kahapon, ang loob namin at kami ay nakokonsensya, at hindi namin malathala o maipahiwatig o ipaalam sa taongbayan na ganito na pala kalaki ang lokohan ng bansa. Dati kaming sundalo. Ayaw naming maghirap ang kinabukasan ng mga anak at apo naming. Ano na lang ang kredibilidad naming iiwan para sa aming mga anak? Alam nyo pala na may ganyang lokohan sa gobyerno noon bakit hindi kayo lumabas? At isasama naming sa libingan ang pangyayaring ito. Kasi sobra na rin kasi. P18 trillion ang utang ng Pilipinas paano ang bayan paano ang kinabukasan natin?” Fidel Corpuz added.
(The reason that really pushed us to come here, even though of what happened yesterday, is that we feel guilty and we are unable to write, express, or inform the public that the deception in our country has become this big. We used to be soldiers. We do not want our children and grandchildren to suffer in the future. What credibility would we leave for our children? You knew there was such deception in the government before, so why didn’t you speak out? And we will bring this to our graves because it has really gone too far. The Philippines already has P18 trillion in debt -- what will happen to the country, what will happen to our future?) (TPM/SunStar Philippines)