By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Senator Erwin Tulfo has launched a legal counteroffensive against those who linked him to the alleged multibillion-peso flood control scandal, filing criminal complaints before the Mandaluyong City Prosecutor’s Office against lawyer Levito Baligod, former Congressman Mike Defensor, Quezon City Councilor Ranulfo Ludovica, lawyer Virgilio Garcia, and two former bodyguards.
The complaint charges the respondents with grave oral defamation in relation to the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, accusing them of publicly spreading false and malicious statements that implicated the senator in the alleged distribution of cash connected to questionable flood control projects.
The case stems from statements allegedly made during a gathering at the Senate and another meeting at the Garden Events Place, where the respondents and former security personnel reportedly identified individuals they claimed had received suitcases supposedly containing cash tied to the alleged flood control anomaly.
Tulfo’s name was among those mentioned during the presentations, with claims that he had allegedly received a suitcase filled with money.
The senator flatly rejected the accusations, describing them as fabricated, baseless, and defamatory, and asserted that the allegations were intended solely to destroy his reputation and mislead the public.
“There is absolutely no evidence linking me to these allegations,” Tulfo maintained, adding that he would exhaust all available legal remedies to hold accountable those responsible for what he described as a deliberate smear campaign.
The latest complaint expands Tulfo’s legal battle over the controversy. Last month, he separately filed a complaint for grave oral defamation before the Pasig Regional Trial Court against three of the 18 former bodyguards who had earlier made similar accusations.
The filing marks another escalation in the legal fallout surrounding the alleged flood control controversy, as competing claims are now shifting from public accusations to the courts, where the parties are expected to present evidence to support their respective positions.
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