Bicol Saro Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon criticized the 18 "maleta boys" for failing to appear Monday, June 8 in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing headed by panel chairman Senator Erwin Tulfo.

This, after the group of former Marines and bodyguard launched what Ridon called a "sensationalized smear campaign" against pro-Vice President Sara Duterte impeachment figures in a supposed Blue Ribbon panel hearing last June 4.

"Last Saturday, I publicly challenged these individuals to appear before the official Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo and to repeat under oath the allegations they made during last week’s informal gathering. That challenge was simple," Ridon said.

"If their allegations were true, they should have had no difficulty appearing before an official congressional proceeding, testifying under oath, and subjecting themselves to questioning by senators. Instead, they chose not to appear," he noted.

Erstwhile dubbed the "18 Marines" or "18 ex--soldiers", Ridon rechristened the group as the "maleta boys" in reference to its claim that its members delivered luggages (maleta) filled with millions of cash payoffs to various government officials in connection with anomalous flood control projects.

The party-list solon--who is part of the House prosecution panel in Vice President Duterte's upcoming Senate impeachment trial--has repeatedly denied and mocked the cash luggage claims.

It was later learned that the ex-soldiers--accompanied by their counsel, lawyer Levi Baligod--did go to the Senate on Monday. What they did, however, was hold a press conference inside Senator Robin Padilla's office.

They never made it to the Blue Ribbon panel hearing, which was cut short in deference to the government’s rescue and relief efforts toward the magnitude 7.8 Mindanao earthquake.

Ridon said of the maleta boys: "They were willing to make sensational allegations in an informal forum, but were unwilling to repeat those same allegations under oath before the duly-constituted Senate Blue Ribbon Committee."

"Their refusal to do so seriously undermines the credibility of the claims they previously made," added the lawyer-solon.

At any rate, Ridon said the House prosecution panel remains focused on its constitutional duties and on the forthcoming impeachment trial.

"No distraction, no fabricated allegation, and no manufactured sideshow will deter us from presenting the evidence and the truth before the Senate impeachment court," he said.