EDITORIAL - An ever-changing story

Not a single senator was present yesterday in the latest edition of the stories narrated by 18 self-proclaimed bagmen, about fantabulous kickbacks they allegedly delivered in cash at the doorsteps of top government officials led by President Marcos and his relatives.

Sen. Imee Marcos arrived at the venue, the Doublegem EDSA Garden Events Place, which barred her entry, saying it had canceled the event. But she left and did not return when the “hearing” pushed through, although converted into a press conference by the handlers of the 18 led by former congressman Michael Defensor and their lawyer Levito Baligod.

The 18, said to be former bodyguards of resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman Elizaldy Co, offered the latest twist to their ever-changing story, adding more alleged recipients of the kickbacks: Commission on Elections Chairman George Garcia and Sen. Francis Escudero.

It wasn’t lost on those who have bothered to follow this story that Escudero had attended the Senate session on June 3 and joined the then minority bloc. This allowed the declaration of a quorum of 12, which led to the election of a new Senate president pro tempore and acting president, Sherwin Gatchalian.

In a subsequent “Blue Ribbon hearing,” the 18 omitted from their list of alleged kickback recipients Sen. Loren Legarda. This was after she jumped from the former majority under Sen. Vicente Sotto III to become the Senate president pro tempore when Alan Peter Cayetano was installed as Senate chief with the help of Ronald dela Rosa.

The 18 had previously admitted erroneously including Leila de Lima as a recipient of kickbacks at a time when she was detained without bail during the Duterte administration. Sotto, another belated addition to the list, also scoffed that his aide who allegedly received the suitcase of cash died way back in 2015.

With such gaping holes and ever-changing details in the stories, lawyers have reminded the 18 and their handlers of the legal doctrine in Latin that describes their narrative: “Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus.” Meaning, “false in one thing, false in everything.”

The 18 should just file a formal complaint against those they are accusing of serious crimes. But first, they should clear all the inconsistencies in their accusations.