Palace Press Officer Claire Castro during the Palace briefing on February 16, 2026. Screen grabbed from RTVM’s livestream.
Palace on Wednesday dismissed allegations that 18 former Marines delivered billions of pesos in cash to the residences of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
The claims emerged Tuesday during a press conference led by lawyer Levito Baligod, where the men said they had worked as security personnel for former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and transported huge sums of cash to unidentified government officials.
Palace press officer Claire Castro called the allegations “lousy script, not award-worthy,” and said they were part of a smear campaign against the President.
“Repeated lies against the President… It is not clean; there is falsehood,” Castro said in Filipino.
When asked about possible legal action, Castro said it is up to law enforcement agencies. “The NBI and the PNP are responsible for investigating this. It is their duty to file cases against those spreading false information. They do not need to be ordered,” she said.
Baligod claimed the men delivered Php 805 billion to Marcos Jr., Romualdez, and Co. during their alleged assignments.
The group also alleged they exchanged $2 million supposedly intended for International Criminal Court investigators, which was later handed to former Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, who has denied the claim.
Castro said the Palace will not engage with the allegations directly but emphasized that authorities will handle the investigation.
