FORMER AKO BICOL partylist Rep. Zaldy Co must have realized that he has been reduced into a sacrificial lamb in a crime involving two most powerful personalities in the country.
This comes as Co dragged his former allies — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr and his cousin, former Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the brains behind anomalies and kickbacks behind the flood control scandal.
In a video released to reporters, Co specifically tagged Marcos and Romualdez — along with top Cabinet members – of orchestrating supposed “insertions” amounting to P100 billion in the 2025 national budget.
Among the most prominent cabinet members he dragged into the budget insertion is Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Amenah Pangandaman.
THE PRESIDENT’S ORDER
“Nagsimula ito noong tumawag si Si Amenah Pangandaman sa akin nung nag-umpisa ang BICAM process last year, 2024… sabi niya, katatapos lang ng meeting nila ni Pangulo at may instructions na mag-insert ng 100 billion worth of projects sa BICAM,” Co said in the video.
“At sinabi pa ni Secretary Menah, you can confirm with Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin dahil magkasama sila sa meeting ni Pangulong BBM nung araw na ‘yun,” Co added.
It was at that juncture that he allegedly called Romualdez to relay the supposed instruction.
“Tinawagan ko po si dating Speaker Martin Romualdez at nireport ko ang instructions ng Presidente to insert the P100 billion projects. At sinabi niya (Romualdez) sa akin, what the President wants, he gets,” the former partylist solon further averred.
Moments later, the same video that was sent to reporters was also posted on Co’s X’s verified account.
AGAINST THE CONSTITUTION
However, Co opted to reduce the P100 billion insertion under the 2025 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) by half to avoid violating the 1987 Constitution which mandates that the education sector must receive the highest budgetary priority among all government departments and agencies.
He particularly cited Article XIV, Section 5(5) of the 1987 Constitution states: “The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job satisfaction and fulfillment.”
The slash however didn’t sit well with Pangandaman whom he claimed confronted him over the phone regarding the reduction of the P100 billion budget insertion.
“Pagkatapos ng isang araw, tinawagan ako ni Secretary Menah at sinabi niya, ang mensahe ng Pangulo, ipasok ninyo ‘yan dahil pinangako na sa akin ni Speaker Martin ‘yan at hindi na pwedeng baguhin. Kumbaga, ang utos ng hari hindi pwedeng mabali,” said Co.
FEARING FOR HIS LIFE
The former partylist congressman went on to claim that it was Romualdez who instructed him to leave the country — at least until such time that the flood control brouhaha simmers down.
Co, who has been placed under the International Police Organization’s (Interpol) blue notice on the request of the Department of Justice (DOJ), further insisted that the government is moving “heaven and earth” to keep him silent.
“Ginagamit ng administrasyon ang buong resources ng bansa para tumahimik ako. That he will shoot me if I will talk. Gagamitin ako bilang panakip butas sa kanilang kampanya laban sa korapsyon,” added Co
Interestingly, Co earlier agreed to attend the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing via video conference. His “zoom appearance” however didn’t materialize after its committee chairman Senator Panfilo Lacson dropped the plan.
ABSOLVING ROMUALDEZ
Far from his usual confrontational stance on the issue of the flood control scandal, the President recently uttered words which contradicted his previous statements.
According to Marcos, Romualdez is not included in the case referrals made by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI). He, however, said that “If something else comes out, then he (Romualdez) might be answerable for something.”
During his latest State of the Nation Address (SONA), Marcos slammed the shamelessness of corrupt government officials and contractors after discovering ghost and sub-standard flood control projects.
Two months after his explosive SONA, Marcos said exposing the corruption and irregularities in flood control projects doesn’t involve politics.
“Why would I even start such a thing if somehow it’s for political advantage. The reason I brought it up and made it part of the national discourse was quite simply because this could not go on,” Marcos was quoted as saying in his podcast.