Commotion, Confusion At Senate As Cayetano-led Senators Push Through With ‘Marines’ Hearing

Senators allied with Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano forced their way into the plenary hall on Thursday, June 4, to proceed with the “Blue Ribbon committee” hearing that they had vowed to launch to give 18 men claiming to be former Marines the platform to repeat their allegations that they delivered suitcases of cash to several lawmakers and administration officials, including President Marcos.

Cayetano’s sister, Senator Pia, and Sen. Robinhood Padilla met the 18 at the lobby before the 10 a.m. “hearing.”

To their surprise, they found Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla standing at the lobby entrance with his arms outstretched as if to block their way.

Padilla led the group into breaking through what they believed was Remulla’s attempt to stop them from going up to the plenary hall on the second floor. Pia limped her way to the plenary floor with her arms around the shoulders of two of the former “Marines.” Remulla denied blocking the group from going to plenary, saying he was on his way out when he chanced upon the group.

Padilla also later denied leading the attack against Remulla and said he was pacifying people during the confrontation.

In her opening speech supposedly as committee chairperson, Pia condemned Remulla’s attempt to prevent them from conducting the hearing.

“I was surprised to see Secretary Jonvic Remulla blocking me. I never thought the day would come that somebody would prevent me from entering the Senate,” she said.

“This is my office. Again, thank you. I never thought…the Senate staff, the media – because you got embroiled in this – who would help me attend this hearing. This is the Senate, this is the halls of democracy. We will hold our hearing and we will continue,” she said in English and Filipino.

On Wednesday, June 3, Sen. Erwin Tulfo was named Blue Ribbon committee chairman replacing Pia after a leadership coup that ousted her brother and propelled Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian to the position of president pro-tempore and acting president.

The other senators who attended the hearing were Padilla, Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta and Loren Legarda.

Pia earlier delegated “vice chairman” Marcoleta to lead the hearing as a subcommittee to hear the 18 individuals’ testimonies.

The 18 resource persons looked and sounded defiant as they criticized those doubting their claims, saying they would not risk their dignity as former soldiers just to follow a script and spew propaganda.

They reiterated their claims contained in their affidavit that they delivered suitcases of varying sizes containing millions of pesos in alleged flood control kickbacks to fugitive and resigned congressman lawmaker Zaldy Co, former House speaker Martin Romualdez, as well as to several other lawmakers, and even to sitting senators.

Among the personalities named as recipients of alleged kickbacks were the President’s son – Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos, First Lady Liza Marcos, and Senators Vicente Sotto III and Erwin Tulfo.

Benny Bulontante and Bernard Gumban, who were among the “ex-Marines,” claimed they were the ones who delivered luggage of cash to Sotto and Tulfo.

Johnny Buduan testified the President was also a recipient of kickbacks contained in several pieces of luggage.

Belnard Tube claimed Sandro himself personally received the kickbacks.

Back to work

An hour before the “hearing” called by Cayetano, Gatchalian held a press briefing urging the Senate to “go back to work” after Cayetano’s session boycotts.

Gatchalian said Remulla was at the Senate to ensure peace and order and that no “untoward incident” would happen as crowds of supporters and protesters were gathering outside the Senate.

He said it was not in his character to “padlock” the plenary just to stop the hearing from happening.

He stressed the Cayetano bloc senators would not be prevented from entering the building. No Senate security staff stopped Cayetano and his group from holding hearing and a press briefing after.

The Senate was relatively empty of employees, who seemed to have complied with Gatchalian’s “advisory” the day before that they would be allowed to “work from home.”

In a memorandum on Wednesday, Cayetano ordered all hands on deck for their hearing.

No Blue Ribbon committee staff was present to record the hearing as part of the Senate records. There was also no livestreaming of the hearing on the Senate’s official channels.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson did not hide his disgust at how the Cayetano bloc used the Senate as platform for baseless allegations.

He issued the statement after a photo of him and Sotto in a plane was presented during the hearing purportedly showing that the same plane was allegedly used by the 18 men to deliver the alleged kickbacks.

“Disgraced ex-SP Cayetano desperately dragged my name in a bogus BRC hearing without an iota of evidence or even a tiny bit of basis or reason except to pull me into a corruption controversy,” Lacson posted on X.