Authorities arrested Atty. Levito “Levi” Baligod and 14 other individuals in San Juan City on Friday, October 16, following an arrest warrant issued by a Zambales court over an unjust vexation case.
San Juan City Police Chief Col. Anthony Gantang confirmed that the group was apprehended outside the San Juan Hall of Justice, where they were attending proceedings related to a separate case. The warrant, issued by the Regional Trial Court in Iba, Zambales, was dated September 23. Police subsequently brought the individuals to the San Juan City Police Station for processing.
The court set bail at ₱10,000 for each accused, allowing them to seek provisional release while the case proceeds. Under Philippine criminal procedure, arrest warrants issued by courts may be enforced nationwide, even outside the jurisdiction where the original case was filed.
Baligod has drawn national attention as the legal counsel of individuals known as the “maleta boys,” who identified themselves as former bodyguards of ex-Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co. The group previously alleged that they transported suitcases containing large amounts of cash supposedly connected to questionable government flood-control projects.
Those allegations have placed Baligod and his clients within the wider public controversy over alleged corruption in infrastructure spending. However, the latest arrests concern an unjust vexation case, a separate legal matter from the allegations involving flood-control funds. Authorities have yet to publicly establish the full circumstances underlying the complaint.
The arrests mark another legal development involving figures who have publicly raised allegations about the flood-control controversy. While the case against Baligod and the others will now proceed through the courts, their previous claims concerning alleged cash deliveries remain separate allegations that must be independently examined and substantiated.
Image from Eastern Police District