Malacañang challenged a witness in a Senate hearing to present evidence supporting his claim that bags of cash were allegedly delivered to President Marcos' residence in Paoay, Ilocos Norte.

The Palace issued the response after Bernard Tube, who identified himself as a former Marine who worked for businessman and former congressman Zaldy Co, alleged that he accompanied Co in delivering suitcases of cash to the President's residence.

Asked to react to the allegation, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro questioned the absence of evidence.

“Ano'ng ebidensiya (What is the evidence)?” Castro said during a Palace press briefing on Thursday, June 4.

When informed that no documentary evidence had yet been presented but that the accusation had been made directly against the President, Castro said the burden is on the accuser to prove the claim.

“Pakita muna nila iyong ebidensiya; madali kasing magturo (Let them show the evidence first because it is easy to point fingers),” she said.

“Lalo na kung balak mo lang naman talaga ay manggiba at magsilbing isang obstructionist o destabilizer (Especially if your intention is merely to destroy and act as an obstructionist or destabilizer),” she added.

Castro said accusations should be backed by documents and not merely by statements made during hearings.

“So, dapat patunayan nila, bigyan nila tayo ng dokumento at hindi iyong salita lamang (So, they should prove it and provide documents, not just words),” she said.

Despite the allegation, Castro stressed that President Marcos would not interfere with the ongoing Senate investigation.

“Hindi po trabaho ng Pangulo, ang mangharang ninuman, so, huwag magbigay ng ganyang klaseng impresyon (It is not the President's job to block anyone, so people should not create that kind of impression),” she said when asked whether the President intended to prevent former Marines and other witnesses from appearing before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

The Palace official added that the administration has no intention of obstructing the Senate's proceedings and maintained that allegations raised during hearings should be supported by evidence and subjected to proper scrutiny.

The allegation surfaced during a Senate investigation into alleged anomalies involving flood control projects.

Tube claimed that he and Co delivered suitcases allegedly containing cash to the President's residence in Paoay.

The claim was raised during the ongoing inquiry into the alleged misuse of flood control funds, one of the issues currently under investigation by lawmakers and other government agencies.

Malacañang has repeatedly maintained that allegations linked to the flood control controversy should be supported by evidence and subjected to proper investigation.