Senate Blue Ribbon chair Cayetano withdraws committee invitations to 18 ex-Marines

The withdrawal was reported on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, citing screenshots of the rescission email shared by counsel Levito Baligod. The eighteen witnesses had been brought forward at Club Filipino in San Juan on February 24, 2026 to corroborate the September 25, 2025 sworn testimony of former Marines master sergeant Orly Guteza on cash deliveries to residences associated with named officials. Less than twenty-four hours later, on the morning of Wednesday, June 3, 2026, Cayetano reversed the move and restored the invitations. The Philippine Star and Inquirer reported the reversal the same day, with counsel Baligod confirming the chair had communicated the restoration. The Senate Secretariat published no formal explanation for either the revocation or the reversal. The reversal keeps the eighteen ex-Marines inside the parent committee's evidentiary track ahead of the June 4, 2026 hearing, while the dedicated Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee under Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, also scheduled to convene June 4, retains a separate line of inquiry. The eighteen are positioned to corroborate Guteza's cash-delivery account if called.