Metro Manila, Philippines – Malacañang maintained that it still considers the allegations of the so-called “Maleta boys” to be unreliable, even as it said it respects the Office of the Ombudsman’s decision to include some of their testimonies in its case against former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Palace press officer Claire Castro made the clarification on Monday, Aug. 3, after Romualdez’s camp questioned the ombudsman’s use of statements from some of the witnesses, arguing that the Department of Justice had earlier found their accounts lacking in credibility.
Castro said the Palace would not interfere with the ombudsman evaluation of the evidence.
“Again, hindi po tayo makikialam, hindi makikialam ang Pangulo at ang Ehekutibo sa mga prosesong ginagawa ng Ombudsman. Kung iyan po rin ang tingin ni dating Speaker Romualdez na ang mga salita ng Maleta boys ay walang saysay, walang bahid ng katotohanan, magagamit naman din po niya itong depensa,” she said.
[Translation: Again, we will not interfere. The president and the executive will not interfere in the processes of the ombudsman. If former Speaker Romualdez believes the statements of the Maleta boys have no value and are untrue, he may use that as part of his defense.]
Pressed on whether the government now considers the witnesses credible because the ombudsman cited some of their testimonies, Castro said Malacañang’s position has not changed.
“On our part, nandoon pa rin po tayo na walang pinagbabasehan ang mga kuwento ng Maleta boys. Kung ano po ang nakita ng Office of the Ombudsman patungkol sa kaso ni dating Speaker Romualdez, hindi po natin iyan panghihimasukan,” she said.
[Translation: On our part, we still believe the stories of the Maleta boys have no basis. Whatever the Office of the Ombudsman found in the case against former Speaker Romualdez, we will not interfere with that.]
Romualdez questioned the inclusion of some of their testimonies in the ombudsman complaints, arguing that the DOJ had previously found the witnesses’ claims unreliable.
The so-called 18 Maleta boys claimed that they were former bodyguards and bagmen of fugitive ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co, delivering suitcases of cash to politicians and officials from flood control project kickbacks.
The DOJ later said many of their claims were unsupported and announced plans to pursue perjury complaints against some of the witnesses over what it described as inconsistent and unsubstantiated statements.
Despite that earlier assessment, the Office of the Ombudsman later relied on portions of some of the testimonies, together with other evidence gathered during its own investigation, in filing complaints related to the flood control controversy against Romualdez and other respondents.
