The Manila Times
MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo said most of the 18 former soldiers who linked some politicians to the flood control fund mess are "not heroes" but merely a group of "kargador" (porters). He said the former aides of resigned partylist representative Zaldy Co should be called porters because they had admitted delivering millions of pesos in suitcases to several lawmakers and other private individuals. The senator questioned their credibility amid reports that most of them were "dishonorably discharged" from the Philippine Marines on various offenses. During the consultative meeting of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) on June 8, Tulfo said the group is being portrayed as heroes and former Marines by individuals seeking to make them appear credible while making baseless allegations. "Yung bansag na 18 Marines ay isang paraan upang pabanguhin sila sa publiko (The 18 Marines tag is a way to make them look good in public)," Tulfo said. "‘Matik po kasi ‘yan pag sinabing Marines, aba iba po ang respeto ng mga tao (That's automatic because when you say [you're a Marines], well, the people accord you some respect)," he added. “I would like to remind my colleagues here in the Senate to please be very careful in calling out some people as bayani (heroes) putting them on a pedestal," Tulfo said. He said that it appeared that some of the information from the former bodyguards is being fed to them, as they have difficulty telling their story on their own during the June 4 "live selling" at the Senate. Tulfo was referring to the public hearing on the flood control project mess on conducted last Thursday by the other blue ribbon chairman, Sen. Pia Cayetano, who belonged to the "old" majority bloc. "The presiding officers of that conference were coaching and leading their 'resource persons,'" he added.
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