Another inconsistency surrounding the supposed Sen. Pia Cayetano-led hearing on the flood control scandal has drawn attention on social media.
The activity, which Senate President Pro Tempore Sherwin Gatchalian described as a “gathering,” proceeded despite the suspension of the hearing to allow Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s new chair, Sen. Erwin Tulfo, to review evidence.
It was not streamed on the Senate’s official YouTube and social media accounts and was not recorded by the Senate secretary.
While Tulfo-led hearing is scheduled next week, the Cayetano-led bloc, headed by Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, proceeded with the activity and brought resource persons identified as former Philippine Marine Corps personnel into the plenary hall.
Among those present was Pia who served as Blue Ribbon Committee chair before the June 3 Senate reorganization. She accompanied the former Marines who were presented as resource persons. These resource persons had no nameplate during the “hearing.”
One of them claimed they were offered a new iPhone 16e with 128GB of storage in exchange for their silence about the flood control scandal in 2024.
They also alleged that they were each given P50,000.
The allegations raised questions, with many Filipinos pointing out that the iPhone 16e variant was not released in the Philippines until March 2025.
“The 18 ‘Marines’ say they were offered iPhone 16e phones in 2024. Apparently, whoever made the offer also had access to a time machine, since the phone didn’t exist until 2025,” a Facebook page said.
“It is claimed that 18 Marines were given iPhone 16e phones in 2024 to ensure silence… An object cannot be given before it exists. The claim contradicts itself,” an online user commented.
The iPhone 16e was released in the United States in February 2025 and had not yet been launched in 2024.
It is claimed that 18 Marines were given iPhone 16e phones in 2024 to ensure silence.
The iPhone 16e was released in February 2025.
An object cannot be given before it exists. The claim contradicts itself. pic.twitter.com/Em7f9VdaFF
— Puretuts (@puretuts) June 4, 2026
“They said 18 Marines were given iPhone 16e phones in 2024 to keep quiet? The iPhone 16e was only released in February 2025! How do you bribe people with a phone that didn’t exist yet? Timeline failed hard,” the X user wrote in another post.
“TIME TRAVEL YARN? Ibinunyag ng isa sa 18 nagpakilalang dating Marines at bagmen umano ni dating kongresista Zaldy Co na nang pumutok ang isyu ng flood control noong 2024, pinapalitan umano ang kanilang mga cellphone upang mabura ang mga larawang maaaring magsilbing ebidensya,” Pilipinas Today wrote.
“Ayon sa testigo, kinuha umano ang kanilang mga lumang cellphone at pinalitan ng mga iPhone. Ngunit nang ipakita sa pagdinig ang naturang gadget, sinabi ng testigo na ito ay isang iPhone 16e, 128 GB. Ang problema, inilabas lamang ng Apple ang iPhone 16e noong Pebrero 28, 2025,” it added.
A technology-focused website also noted the timeline discrepancy, joking that the “18 Marines,” the name used for the resource persons, must have had a time machine.
“Sino source ng ’18 Marines?’
We need to know para mauna kami sa future reviews. May time machine ata sila eh,” GIZGUIDEPH wrote.
Another claim raised during the “hearing” was disputed by Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, who was accused of having money delivered to him.
“OMG, noon pa ‘yan, sinabi ko, I will not dignify such because I was not a senator from 2022 to 2025,” he was quoted as saying on Thursday, June 4.
The veteran lawmaker returned to the Senate only after winning a seat in the 2025 midterm elections.
Prior to that, he ran for vice president in the 2022 national elections as the running mate of Sen. Ping Lacson, but lost to incumbent Vice President Sara Duterte.
“The name they mentioned na EA [Executive Assistant] ko daw na tumanggap ay is Mark. Mark died in 2015, ano ba!” Sotto added.
ALSO READ: Sotto refutes ex-marine’s flood control kickback claim, cites death of staff and timeline mismatch
Tulfo said the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing will resume on Monday, June 8.
