Romualdez: Some Co aides asked to join 18 ‘Maleta Boys’
Some two dozen former security aides to ex-Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co have denied allegations by 18 of their erstwhile colleagues that they were also involved in the delivery of suitcases full of cash to former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The 25 men also alleged that they were asked by lawyer Levito Baligod, counsel for the 18 men collectively called “Maleta Boys,” to join their former co-workers.
The declarations were made in separate affidavits by the 25 security personnel who had served Co, the former House appropriations committee head who is at the center of an ongoing investigation of the multibillion-peso flood control kickback scheme that implicated Romualdez and other officials.
The Leyte representative has totally denied any wrongdoing, saying he was the victim of “trumped up charges.” Co has fled to Europe and is seeking asylum, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Supplemental affidavit
The sworn statements of the 25 men were attached to the supplemental affidavit submitted by Romualdez’s lawyers on Thursday to the office of the government’s chief graft prosecutor seeking to junk the plunder complaint against him linked to the flood control scandal.
“In the Affidavits of Denial and Non-Participation, all the 25 Security Aides state that throughout their respective periods of employment until 2025 and 2026, no deliveries of money were ever made, contrary to the false allegations made by the 18 Security Aides against me,” Romualdez said in his supplemental affidavit.
Romualdez noted that one of the 25 former security aides, Arnilo Ramirez, said that Baligod was planning to create another group of witnesses to be called “Batch 2.” The lawyer allegedly brought him and others to Shangri-La Hotel between March and April 2026, to sign an “already prepared affidavit.”
Ramirez said he did not sign the document because it included things he did not personally see, know about or experience, according to Romualdez.
‘More incredible’
The affidavits “clearly render the allegations of the 18 Security Aides even more incredible and further corroborate the arguments raised in, and the Recantation Affidavits appended to, my Counter-Affidavit,” he added.
Abe Fajardo, Romualdez’s spokesperson and one of his lawyers, said that the 25 men were prompted to file their affidavits earlier with the DOJ after the 18 “Maleta Boys” claimed that they were also involved in the suitcase deliveries.
He told the Inquirer on Friday that the DOJ received 19 affidavits on Aug. 13 and the remaining six on Aug. 19.
The DOJ and the National Bureau of Investigation opened separate probes into allegations made by the 18 “Maleta Boys” in a joint affidavit last February claiming that they delivered hundreds of millions not only to Romualdez and Co, but also to President Marcos and other officials.
This was flatly denied by Mr. Marcos, who triggered the investigations of anomalous flood control projects in his State of the Nation Address last year.
Romualdez said that some of the 25 security aides denied that they were among the individuals mentioned by the 18 “Maleta Boys” who were with them when they made the deliveries.
Delivery addresses
In one instance, one man identified as the driver during one delivery in November 2023 to No. 42 McKinley Road, Forbes Park, denied any participation. Another man also identified as a driver who brought money to No. 14 Narra, Forbes Park, likewise denied he took part in the delivery. Both houses are supposedly owned by Romualdez.
Fajardo told reporters on Thursday that the Ombudsman’s complaint against the former Speaker seemed to rely on oral evidence or testimony, which he said can easily be disputed.
There have been five recantations by former security aides who had implicated Romualdez in the kickback scheme linked to flood control irregularities.
The latest to recant was Orly Guteza, whom Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson called as the “original Maleta Boy.”
Last month, four of the 18 bagmen recanted their statements against Romualdez.
Blue ribbon appearance
In his recantation during an interview with GMA News last Wednesday night, Guteza said he was made to testify before the Senate blue ribbon committee in September last year by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former Anakalusugan Rep. Mike Defensor.
In his Senate testimony, Guteza said he delivered P48 million each in separate suitcases to Co’s and Romualdez’s residences.
In his recantation, Guteza said Marcoleta and Defensor allegedly fabricated his statement to the senators in exchange for P150 million and scholarships for his children.
Marcoleta and Defensor, who are detained on an unrelated plunder charge, could not be reached for comment.
