Sen. Tito Sotto received a corruption accusation from the Philippine Marines members
Senate President Tito Sotto reacted to the accusation that he and several other officials received “male-maletang pera” or suitcases of money.
Sotto was just among the many celebrity personalities who eventually entered the political arena. With his years in showbiz, he already had his fair share of controversies, and issues even doubled when he became a government official, just like the recent issue being thrown at him.
He was accused of being a corrupt official, receiving money from anomalous sources. Based on the article in Bandera, several members of the Philippine Marines have exposed allegations against several government officials who allegedly received bribes contained in suitcases.
In an ambush interview with Sen. Tito Sotto, also known as Tito Sen, he was asked about the said accusation. The showbiz personality-turned-politician said that he no longer wanted to take it seriously because there was no truth to it.
With this, he jokingly answered that his wife would probably be in the scenario if that amount of money were given to him.
“I will not dignify a tall story allegation. Ang nakakatawa roon, baka hanapin sa akin ng asawa ko ‘yung limang maleta,” the lawmaker said and laughed, referring to his wife, veteran actress Helen Gamboa.
He also stressed that the allegations made by the group of Marines against him and other lawmakers were ridiculous.
Recently, 18 alleged former security personnel of former Congressman Zaldy Co, led by Atty. Levi Baligod appeared in a press conference. They claimed that they delivered suitcases containing money to high-ranking government officials and that this happened several times.
The members of the Philippine Marines mentioned former President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Baligod claimed that the large amount of money was from government projects and was used for various purposes, including handling the case of former President Rodrigo Duterte at the International Criminal Court (ICC).
The Philippine Navy and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) warned the public against spreading unverified news and information. It was also said that the Philippine Navy emphasized that some of the accusers are not actual members of the Corps and have a poor service record.