Sara Duterte visits Leyte turf linked to lawyer of ‘ex-marines.’ Just coincidence?

Just a day after 18 so-called “ex-marines” took part in a widely contested Senate hearing marked by conflicting narratives, Vice President Sara Duterte surfaced in an unannounced visit to the turf of their lawyer in Baybay City, Leyte.

She visited a small school in a remote barangay as part of the school’s Brigada Eskwela activities. While there, she also prayed at the famous Pomponan Church and joined a barangay aid distribution for pedicab and tricycle drivers.

Welcoming her was Barangay 23 Chairperson Gongie Galenzoga.

It’s not mere coincidence. No barangay chairman in Baybay City would warmly welcome the Vice President unless he or she wanted to sour relations with the Caris of Baybay, who are aligned with the current administration.

Why? And how does this connect to the 18 ex-Marines?

Gongie Galenzoga’s family has been running against the ruling Cari clan since the 2013 elections, fielding candidates for various posts until he broke through in 2025.

Galenzoga’s sister, Marilou “Malot” Galenzoga-Baligod, is the wife of Levito Baligod, lawyer of the alleged “ex-marines.”

Malot ran in 2016 against then-incumbent Baybay City mayor Carmen Loreto-Cari. When lawyer Baligod ran for senator in 2016, he endorsed then-mayor Rodrigo Duterte. He and his wife have sought the endorsement of Rodrigo and Sara Duterte in subsequent elections. In Baybay, their campaign posters in 2019 and 2022 showed the elder Duterte raising their hands.

Many have noted that the politicians implicated by the 18 ex-Marines are mostly from the Marcos-Romualdez camp or are vocal critics of the Dutertes.

On the day of the hearing, National Bureau of Investigation Director Matibag said he received information alleging that former congressman Mike Defensor offered the ex-Marines P5 million each to testify.

Later that day, Palawan 2nd District Representative Jose Alvarez interrupted Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s press conference to allege that Defensor had also asked him to lead efforts to impeach Marcos.

So there’s that, but Baligod’s long history of alliance with the Dutertes also places in plain sight a Duterte connection to the 18 “ex-marines”. – Rappler.com