Politics · Philippines Bureau
Plastic bins used to transport kickback cash, court hears
A witness in an antigraft court case testified that alleged bagmen working for a former Bicol congressman used plastic storage containers to deliver millions of pesos in cash before switching to suitcases. The cash deliveries were allegedly part of a scheme to distribute public works kickbacks.
LSN Philippines ·
MANILA — Alleged bagmen working for former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co used plastic bins to transport millions of pesos in cash to various recipients as part of a public works kickbacks scheme, a witness told the Sandiganbayan on Thursday.
The testimony detailed how the operatives would deliver funds contained in plastic storage containers before eventually switching to suitcases, known locally as "maleta," for the same illicit purpose. The witness, whose testimony formed part of the antigraft court proceedings, described the logistics of how alleged kickback money was distributed among various recipients.
The case centers on allegations that Co's office coordinated the collection and distribution of kickbacks from public works projects. Such schemes typically involve government officials and contractors collaborating to divert portions of project budgets into private hands, with bagmen tasked with physically delivering the cash payments.
The shift from plastic containers to suitcases for transporting the funds suggested an effort to adapt methods as the alleged scheme evolved, according to the testimony presented to the antigraft court during the ongoing proceedings against the former lawmaker.