ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Tulfo, Sotto dismiss suitcase delivery allegations in Cayetano-led Blue Ribbon panel

Tulfo, Sotto dismiss suitcase delivery allegations in Cayetano-led Blue Ribbon panel

Published Jun 4, 2026 03:07 pm
Senators Erwin Tulfo and Vicente "Tito" Sotto III on Thursday rejected allegations raised during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing led by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's bloc that they received suitcases of money.
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta, and Robin Padilla, along with 18 Philippine Marines serving as resource persons, arrive at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on June 4, 2026, for the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control initiatives. (Mark Balmores)
Senators Alan Peter Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Imee Marcos, Rodante Marcoleta, and Robin Padilla, along with 18 Philippine Marines serving as resource persons, arrive at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on June 4, 2026, for the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on flood control initiatives. (Mark Balmores)
In a statement, Tulfo accused Bernard Gumban, one of the individuals presented as part of a group of the alleged 18 former Marines, of making contradictory claims during the hearing.
"Malaking kasinungalingan ang mga naging paratang ni Bernard Gumban (The accusations made by Bernard Gumban are a big lie)," Tulfo said, referring to the testimony given before what he called a "bogus" Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
Tulfo pointed to alleged inconsistencies between Gumban's earlier affidavit and his testimony during the hearing. He said Gumban had previously claimed to have delivered six medium-sized suitcases to him, but later gave varying accounts involving two and six suitcases.
The senator also questioned discrepancies regarding the alleged amounts of money supposedly contained in the luggage, saying the figures cited in the affidavit differed from those mentioned during the hearing.
"Ano ba talaga? (What is it really?)" Tulfo said.
He further argued that some individuals named in earlier affidavits were omitted during the hearing while new names were introduced, raising concerns about the conduct of the investigation.
Tulfo described the allegations against him as a "planned propaganda" campaign aimed at damaging his reputation.
"Hindi na ito isang simpleng imbestigasyon, ito ay isang malinaw at planadong propaganda laban sa aking pagkatao at reputasyon (This is no longer a simple investigation; it is a clear and deliberate propaganda campaign against my person and reputation)," he said.
The senator also challenged the legitimacy of the proceedings and said that Cayetano should instead attend what he described as the legitimate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing.
Senator Vicente "Tito" Sotto III likewise dismissed allegations linking him to the controversy.
Sotto said he had previously chosen not to respond to the accusations because he was not a senator between 2022 and 2025, the period referenced in the allegations.
He also disputed claims involving an alleged aide named Mark, noting that a person by that name who had worked for him died in 2015.
Sotto urged others not to give credence to the accusations and characterized the hearing as a "bogus investigation in aid of destabilisation."

Related Tags

Alan Peter Cayetano Erwin Tulfo Tito Sotto Senate Blue Ribbon Committee
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.