Senator Alan Peter Cayetano's bloc has seemingly abandoned the 18 ex-bodyguards who have been creating noise as bagmen under the flood control projects corruption scandal.

Thus, said Manila 6th district Rep. Bienvenido "Benny" Abante in a statement Thursday, June 18, two days after the supposed "Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing" with the bagmen at Doublegem EDSA Garden Events Place in Mandaluyong City.

This guerrilla style hearing--announced by former congressman Mike Defensor--didn't materialize, and the bagmen instead held a press conference.

Abante said the witnesses--who have also been dubbed "ex-Marines" and "ex-soliders", were left exposed after allies of former Senate President Cayetano, particularly former Blue Ribbon subcommittee head Senator Rodante Marcoleta, no-showed the June 16 proceedings.

“After all the buildup, all the publicity, and all the dramatic accusations, the people left holding the bag were the witnesses themselves and their handler,” Abante said.

“Ang masakit puro mga kaso ang kinakaharap ngayon ng ex-bodyguards (What's worse for the ex-bodyguards are all the cases they are facing)," he said.

The Manila lawmaker was referring to the libel raps filed by various politicians that the according to the bagmen received millions woths of payoff money encased in luggages or suitcases ("maletas").

“They were presented as credible insiders with explosive stories to tell. But when the moment came for those claims to be tested in what was being advertised as a Senate proceeding, the politicians who helped elevate their allegations were nowhere to be found,” added Abante, who was one of those who filed cyberlibel charges against the group.

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, now chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo, had earlier clarified that no hearing on the matter had been authorized or scheduled. Tulfo is part of the bloc of Senator Sherwin Gatchalian, the new Senate President.

Even members of the pro-Cayetano bloc couldn't give confirmation of the supposed "Blue Ribbon panel hearing" upon inquiry by Senate reporters.

According to Abante, the collapse of the planned hearing left the witnesses in an awkward position after their allegations had been publicly amplified by politicians who later failed to show up.

He noted that Defensor publicly promoted the supposed hearing and appeared at the venue, along with the witnesses and members of the media.

“The witnesses showed up. Mike Defensor showed up. The media showed up. What did not show up were the senators whose participation was supposed to give the event legitimacy,” Abante said.

“That is why the entire exercise ended not with answers, but with even more questions,” he added.

The House Committee on Human Rights chairman said the collapse of the planned hearing cast doubt on both the allegations and the credibility of the people behind them.

“These were serious accusations involving bags allegedly filled with cash and claims of wrongdoing by public officials. Serious allegations deserve serious scrutiny,” Abante said.

Abante said the public deserves an explanation from those who promoted the supposed hearing.

“You cannot spend days promising a blockbuster Senate hearing and then deliver a press conference after the hearing itself falls apart,” he said.

“In the end, the hearing disappeared, the senators disappeared, and the credibility of the entire operation disappeared with them,” Abante further said.