Police Block Defensor’s ‘Unauthorized’ Blue Ribbon Hearing; Gatchalian Condemns Faction as Ex-Soldiers Face Arrest

A tense political standoff unfolded live on social media today after police authorities blocked organizers and a faction of the Senate from holding what has been officially declared an illegitimate and unauthorized Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing at an events venue in Quezon City.

The incident, which was broadcasted across various Facebook Livestream feeds, showed law enforcement firmly denying entry to the organizers—spearheaded by former congressman and Cabinet official Mike Defensor—and the controversial 18 ex-marines who claim to be former bagmen of disgraced ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co.

Police officials on the scene cited strict orders that the gathering was entirely unauthorized by the actual Senate leadership and lacked any institutional legitimacy.

The formal Senate leadership quickly moved to shut down the rogue assembly. In an official statement, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee—chaired by Senator Erwin Tulfo under the leadership of Acting Senate President Sherwin Win Gatchalian—categorically rejected the online announcements circulated by Defensor.

The public and all concerned stakeholders are hereby advised that no hearing of the Senate Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations (Blue Ribbon Committee) has been scheduled for June 16, 2026, the official advisory stated, warning that Defensor has zero legal standing to convene any Senate panel.

Gatchalian, who has expressed growing frustration over the continuous political circus surrounding the flood control probe, slammed the parallel movement orchestrated by the rival Senator Alan Peter Cayetano bloc. The official Senate leadership reiterated that Senate rules mandate a formal three-day notice and an official agenda before any committee can sit, calling the EDSA events place gathering hao xiao (fake) and an attempt at institutional misrepresentation.

The drama peaked outside the Doublegem EDSA Garden Events Place when the 18 self-proclaimed ex-soldiers—who previously skipped the official Senate probe on June 8 to hold a private press conference—attempted to enter the venue alongside Defensor and 14 new alleged witnesses.

The ex-marines have been under heavy fire after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) pointed to signs of coaching and synchronized narratives in their joint affidavits, labeling their sweeping allegations of multi-billion-peso suitcase cash deliveries to top lawmakers and the President as a fabricated extortion plot.

With the venue management abruptly canceling the event and police cordoning off the perimeter, authorities on the ground confirmed that the ex-soldiers are now facing imminent arrest. The NBI and police are moving in on the group following the re-opening of a criminal investigation into their alleged destabilization and extortion attempts.

Legal scholars and senators allied with the Gatchalian-led leadership have backed the police intervention, noting that while free speech is protected, simulating an official Senate inquiry outside the halls of Congress to subvert ongoing DOJ and Ombudsman fact-finding missions borders on illegal usurpation of authority.

As of press time, police forces remain deployed at the venue as processing and formal arrests of the key figures begin.