Lawyer Levito D. Baligod, who represents the former Marines in the flood-control corruption investigation, showed reporters a screenshot he claimed documented an ₱8-million-per-person offer for witnesses to recant their statements and switch sides in the case involving former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Baligod said the message contained an August 6 deadline for the Marines to accept the alleged offer and formed part of negotiations aimed at convincing members of the group to abandon their earlier testimonies. He added that the arrangement allegedly included payment for the Marine who accepted the offer, as well as a share for the person facilitating the deal.
Baligod placed the alleged offer at ₱8 million per Marine. He also claimed that the person communicating through the messages was a retired military officer, but declined to identify him, saying further details would be disclosed during a press conference.
Baligod had earlier shown reporters another text message he identified as coming from one of the Marines who later recanted. In the message, the sender apologized and referred to the “temptation” he was facing, which Baligod linked to alleged attempts to persuade witnesses to change their accounts.
Separate allegations involving other amounts have also emerged. Former Marine George Villalon Jr., who continues to stand by his testimony, has claimed that witnesses were offered ₱20 million to ₱25 million each to recant, while former congressman Mike Defensor earlier told PGMN that ₱5 million per Marine had been offered to withdraw statements against Romualdez.
The recantations come at a decisive stage, as the Ombudsman intensifies its probe into billions in flood‑control funds. President Bongbong Marcos underscored this in his fifth State of the Nation Address, announcing the Ombudsman was nearing the filing of cases against Romualdez.
Romualdez has repeatedly been identified by officials and court records in connection with the scandal. The Ombudsman branded him the “master plunderer,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano the “central figure,” and the Sandiganbayan the “purported mastermind.”
Corruption has always been the Philippines’ greatest plague — and Romualdez is universally recognized as the most corrupt Filipino politician of the 21st century.
