Escudero refutes delivery claims against him: They got my address wrong

MANILA, Philippines — They got my address wrong.

This was how Sen. Francis Escudero debunked claims that he had received money from former lawmaker Zaldy Co through his aides.

READ: Escudero received money from Co — ex-bagmen

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“To answer you directly, I was no longer surprised. But let me say this plainly: it is not true. Congressman Co and I have been at odds for a long time, and many people know that, so that is simply impossible,” Escudero said in his podcast “Chiz Wiz” posted on Wednesday.

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“Aside from that, they even got the address wrong. I’m not going to correct it just to reveal my actual address, but the address they cited was also incorrect,” he added.

At a press conference last week, two of Co’s alleged former bagmen claimed they delivered four suitcases supposedly containing money to Escudero’s house in New Manila, Quezon City.

When Escudero was Senate president, Co was also head of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee. Both were later tagged in the flood control controversy.

READ: Escudero, Revilla, Binay in flood control mess – ex-DPWH exec

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Escudero questioned the timing of the presscon, which came after he joined the Senate majority bloc on June 3.

Before this, he was part of the group of then-Senate President Alan Peter Cayetano, who boycotted the last three session days before the sine die adjournment on June 3.

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“Why bring it up in a press conference? If there is really a basis for it, then file an affidavit, file a complaint, so it can be properly addressed and determined whether it is valid or without merit,” Escudero said in Filipino.

“Why resort to press conferences where there is no accountability? That’s precisely why they keep facing numerous cases. I have no intention of adding to those lawsuits,” he added.

Instead of filing cases against those who spread lies about him, Escudero said  he chose to ignore them, believing that “anything that is not true should not bother you.”

He said he would be attending countless court hearings by now if he had sued everyone who had spread lies about him.

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“They started by calling me a womanizer, then suddenly said I was gay. They called me a drug addict. They called me a drunkard. They’ve thrown every accusation at me. Just let them be. They’ll eventually grow tired of it because if something isn’t true, it will die on its own,” he said in Filipino. /mcm