To what extent and for what end are some parties willing to push the incredulous tale of 18 self-described former…

To what extent and for what end are some parties willing to push the incredulous tale of 18 self-described former Marines who allegedly delivered suitcases filled with millions to several political figures amid the escalating flood control probe?

With its changing cast of characters and circumstances, the story increasingly sounds like a dagdag-bawas operation that only the most gullible would take at face value.

At a Senate consultative meeting on Tuesday, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Melvin Matibag revealed that one of the men was approached by their now counsel Levi Baligod, presumably to sell the “maleta” story originated by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta’s witness Orly Guteza. That selected individual then recruited the rest of the group who have been sheltered in Baligod’s home since November, Matibag added.

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NBI investigation also found that some of the 18 were given dishonorable discharge for various offenses, while others were former bodyguards of resigned congressman Zaldy Co, one of the main players in cornering flood control funds. Matibag said their refusal to submit individual affidavits that would have specified their role in the transaction, open their testimony to cross-examination, and lead to the possible filing of charges against those mentioned in their story also weakened their allegations.

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Errand boys

In that Senate meeting, Matibag also quoted the partner of one of the bagmen’s daughter as saying that the 18 had been promised P5 million each by former congressman Mike Defensor, who was previously linked to Guteza’s Senate appearance.

With cash changing hands, these men are hardly the “heroes” hailed by Sen. Loren Legarda, but are mere errand boys of a syndicate trading in anomalous deals, one senator pointed out in that Senate consultative meet.

Earlier, former blue ribbon committee chair Sen. Ping Lacson disputed the “maleta” story by noting that transporting P805 billion as claimed by the bagmen would take some five and a half years of 24/7 labor using at least 13,000 suitcases, a spectacle that would attract undue attention in the gated villages involved. As it is, there was no CCTV record, no documentary evidence, no receipts, nor hard evidence beyond the say-so of the “maleta” couriers, the NBI director said.

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The revolving door list of names of those allegedly involved in the payout also seems to support speculations of a political agenda behind the claims. As Mamamayang Liberal party list Rep. Leila de Lima pointed out, she wasn’t even in office but was in prison on trumped up charges when the cash was supposedly delivered to her.

Opposite side of political fence

Former Senate President Tito Sotto meanwhile asked: how could they do business with his assistant when the guy had passed years before the transaction? Also named recipients were Fr. Flavie Villanueva, a staunch supporter of families of the Duterte drug war victims, and even International Criminal Court investigators.

On the other hand, Legarda was in the bagmen’s original affidavit, but her name mysteriously disappeared after she joined the pro-Duterte bloc led by Sen. Alan Cayetano which mounted the unauthorized blue ribbon hearing earlier this month. Palawan 2nd District Rep. Jose “Pepito” Alvarez shredded the credibility of that hearing when he came over to say his name was added to the list after he refused Defensor’s request to endorse an impeachment complaint against President Marcos.

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On Tuesday, it was Defensor—who was not even a senator—who announced that a Senate blue ribbon hearing will be held again at an events center along Edsa but no senator showed up, and it ended up as a media briefing. But several names were added to the list, most of them critics and personalities on the opposite side of the political fence: Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr., Sen. Kiko Pangilinan, and Sen. Chiz Escudero, who recently joined the rival Gatchalian bloc in the Senate leadership row, Commission on Elections chair George Garcia, former police chief Nicolas Torre, and broadcasters Ramon Tulfo and Arnold Clavio.

A media blitz

If the “maleta” story were to be taken seriously, why are their handlers forum shopping? When the bagmen were invited to attend the hearing of the Senate blue ribbon committee chaired by the duly elected chair Sen. Erwin Tulfo, they instead holed up at the office of Duterte-ally Sen. Robinhood Padilla.

The justice department and the Office of the Ombudsman said they are similarly waiting for the group’s individual affidavits to be able to start the proper preliminary investigation so why are Baligod, Defensor, and their clients withholding them?

Are they just out for a media blitz to discredit the political opposition, some of whom are with the prosecution panel in the looming impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte? Is the “maleta” story a mere distraction from the flood control probe that threatens to expose the involvement of more of their cohorts?

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If, as Sen. Risa Hontiveros noted in the Senate consultative meet that “the truth doesn’t mind being questioned,” when are these delivery men finally giving us real answers?