{"id":21028,"date":"2026-08-10T01:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T17:07:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/?p=21028"},"modified":"2026-08-10T01:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T17:07:16","slug":"lacson-maleta-boys-recantation-raises-more-questions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/2026\/08\/10\/lacson-maleta-boys-recantation-raises-more-questions\/","title":{"rendered":"LACSON: \u2018MALETA BOYS\u2019 RECANTATION RAISES MORE QUESTIONS"},"content":{"rendered":"

THE recantation by some of the 18 \u201cMaleta Boys\u201d of their claims about cash deliveries in suitcases to certain personalities raises even more questions, but authorities should also track down and hold accountable those behind the confusion they have created, Sen. Panfilo \u201cPing\u201d M. Lacson said Friday.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lacson said the \u201cMaleta Boys\u201d have made so many flip-flopping statements in various fora and venues that the public no longer knows which of their claims to believe.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“First question that needs to be answered is – are these four part or outside of the eight reported earlier to have submitted their sworn statements to the Ombudsman which triggered the initiation of the preliminary investigation against former Speaker Martin Romualdez, et al?” he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Sa dami kasi ng flip-flopping statements nila sa iba\u2019t-ibang fora at venues, hindi na natin alam kung ano na ang totoo at hindi sa mga sinasabi nila at kung sino-sino sa kanila ang nagsasabi ng totoo at hindi (With the many flip-flopping statements they made in various fora and venues, we no longer know who among them is telling the truth, or which parts of their claims are true),” he added.<\/strong><\/p>\n

More importantly, Lacson said authorities must track down those behind the “Maleta Boys” and the confusion they have created in past months.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Dapat ding tugisin at papanagutin sa batas ang mga nasa likod ng gulo at confusion na nilikha nila. I hope the authorities will track and make them answerable as well (The authorities must also track down and make accountable to the law those behind the ‘Maleta Boys’ and the confusion they created. I hope the authorities will track and make them answerable as well),” he said.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier, Lacson had raised questions concerning the logic and basic mathematics behind the claims of the 18 “Maleta Boys” – former soldiers linked to a P805-billion cash delivery scheme.<\/strong><\/p>\n

He cited the logistical nightmare in moving 805 metric tons in paper bills \u2013 as well as 53.6 metric tons of large empty suitcases to accommodate the amount; as well as the time needed to process the money before delivering it to the supposed recipients.<\/strong><\/p>\n

“To be clear, while every imputation of a crime warrants our attention, none deserves our blind deference. In the same manner that everyone has a right to be heard, it is not a license to mislead. Hence, while I reserve judgment on the merits of the testimonies, I am duty-bound to raise questions of logic and \u2013 at the very least \u2013 basic mathematics,” he said in a privilege speech last March 2.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lacson said unloading, counting, repacking, loading, and delivering the money would take until mid-2028 if this started in 2023; or until mid-2027 if this started in the second half of 2022 when then Rep. Elizaldy Co took over the chairmanship of the House Appropriations Committee.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Also, he said moving this much wealth at P500 million per day would require 1,610 deliveries to and from ex-Cong. Co\u2019s residence, adding that if there was zero kickback for Co, ” was he just a messenger?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

On the other hand, Lacson said the 18 may have been intended to be used in a destabilization attempt at the Senate last June 8, but any possible threat was preempted after then acting Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian ordered heightened security at the Senate.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

THE recantation by some of the 18 “Maleta Boys” of their claims about cash deliveries in suitcases to certain personalities raises even more questions, but<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[],"featured_image_urls":{"full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys-300x131.jpg",300,131,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"kreeti-slider-full":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"kreeti-featured":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"kreeti-medium":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys.jpg",512,224,false],"kreeti-medium-square":["https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/maleta-boys-350x224.jpg",350,224,true]},"author_info":{"info":["admin"]},"category_info":"National<\/a>","tag_info":"National","comment_count":"0","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21028"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21028"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21030,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21028\/revisions\/21030"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.journaldailynewsonline.com.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}