Palace slams bribery claims vs. Marcos

Malacañang on Thursday firmly denied renewed allegations linking President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to supposed multibillion-peso bribes, calling the claims politically driven and bereft of credibility.

The issue resurfaced after former lawmaker Mike Defensor announced that another batch of former soldiers was prepared to testify regarding alleged payoffs amounting to billions of pesos. Defensor also alleged that there were ongoing efforts to stop the group from coming forward.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro directly questioned Defensor’s motives, suggesting a pattern in his public pronouncements.

“Mike Defensor, the known wonder boy. Marami sa kaniyang talumpati ang naghihikayat sa ating mga kababayan na tanggalin sa puwesto ang ating Pangulo. Alam na natin ang motibo (Many of his speeches encourage our countrymen to remove our President from office. We already know the motive),” Castro said.

She went further by drawing parallels to a past political controversy involving allegedly coerced testimony.

“Mike Defensor again, Ador Mawanay 2.0 – kilala ang salitang ‘Mawanay’ dahil sa pamimilit diumano sa kanya na gumawa ng pekeng salaysay, (Mike Defensor again, Ador Mawanay 2.0 – the word ‘Mawanay’ is known because of the alleged pressure on him to make fake statements),” she added.

Castro was referring to Ador Mawanay, whose real name is Antonio Luis Marquez. In 2001, he accused then-Senator Panfilo Lacson of holding hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign bank accounts — a charge he later retracted.

The latest development follows earlier accusations aired by lawyer Levi Baligod and 18 individuals identifying themselves as former Marines. They alleged that PHP805 billion had been delivered to President Marcos, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and former lawmaker Zaldy Co.

Malacañang had previously dismissed those allegations as “lousy scriptwriting,” maintaining that the accusations lacked factual basis.

Asked whether the renewed claims could be intended to deflect attention from issues involving the International Criminal Court (ICC), Castro said such a motive cannot be ruled out.

“Malamang, kung anuman ang motibo nila, malamang na maaaring i-discredit at tanggalan ng kredibilidad at integridad ang ICC but mas concerned po tayo sa mga kasinungalingan na kanilang ibinabato sa ating Pangulo (It is likely that, whatever their motives, they can discredit and strip the ICC of its credibility and integrity, but we are more concerned about the lies they are hurling at our President),” she said.