NBI: Lawyer stopped 12 Co ‘bagmen’ from signing statements
Only six of the 18 alleged former Marines, who claimed to have delivered suitcases filled with cash totaling billions of pesos to several government officials and personalities, including President Marcos, have signed their sworn statements before the National Bureau of Investigation, according to Director Melvin Matibag.
In a message to the Inquirer on Wednesday, Matibag said that the supposed ex-Marines were about to sign their written statements after they were interviewed by the NBI for over eight hours on Tuesday, but their lawyer, Levito Baligod, stopped them after NBI officials declined to provide him copies of the documents.
Proceedings recorded
The NBI is currently investigating the joint affidavit of the 18 individuals in which they said they served as “bagmen” for resigned Ako Bicol party list Rep. Elizaldy Co.
“The DOJ (Department of Justice) Department Circular No. 48 says that we should not release copies of the statements until the investigation is over,” Matibag said, adding, “But the entire proceedings were recorded.”
The NBI director said that Baligod even wanted to take back and tear up the statements that had already been signed.
Matibag, however, pointed out that the 18 individuals voluntarily gave their statements to the NBI and were even asked to read them before signing the documents.
The Inquirer contacted Baligod for comment but as of press time, there was no response from him.
On March 12, 16 of the 18 alleged former Marines went to the NBI after they were subpoenaed by the bureau. On March 17, all 18 returned to the NBI, along with Baligod, to undergo one-on-one questioning regarding their joint affidavit.
More questions
Baligod said in a chance interview with the media afterward that some of them have yet to sign their affidavits since “investigators still have questions to ask.”
“Actually, the process is not over yet,” he told reporters. “Some have signed, but there are still supplementary questions, so it seems the investigators are not satisfied yet. That’s why we will come back.”
The NBI investigation stems from a Feb. 24 press conference in which Baligod introduced the 18 as former Marines who supposedly served as “bagmen” for Co. They claimed Co tasked them to deliver P805 billion in kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects to prominent government personalities, including President Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez
