Former Ako Bicol party-list Representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co broke his silence amid allegations surrounding the flood control project scandal, accusing President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of ordering P100 billion worth of project insertions in the 2025 national budget in a video statement released Friday, November 14.
Co alleged that the administration was “exhausting all resources” to make him a scapegoat in its anti-corruption campaign, adding that if he ever spoke out, he would likely be shot.
“Ginagamit ng administrasyon ang buong resources ng bansa para tumahimik ako—that he will shoot me if I will talk and gagamitin ako bilang panakip butas sa kanilang kampanya laban sa korapsyon,” said Co.
Furthermore, he stated that he had left the country on July 19 for a medical checkup and had initially planned to return after Marcos’ State of the Nation Address (SONA) when then House Speaker Romuladez instructed him via phone call to stay out of the country.
“Stay out of the country. You will be well taken care of as instructed by the President,” words of Romualdez according to Co’s statement.
According to his statement, he said he was made a scapegoat in the administration’s anti-corruption drive and turned into a “poster boy” to mask the irregularities behind the flood-control controversy.
“Noon, naniniwala pa ako sa kanila, kaya hindi ako bumalik. Tumikom ang aking bibig, sumunod ako. Pero ang hindi ko alam, ang ibig pala nilang sabihin sa aalagaan ka namin ay gagamitin ako bilang panakip-butas sa kanilang kampanya laban sa korapsyon. Ginawa nila ‘kong poster boy ng kanilang sariling kasinungalingan,” he added.
Moreover, he admitted that he received an instructions from the President through Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman in 2024 to insert around P100 billion worth of projects into the budget, he then verified the supposed instructions with Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, and called Romualdez to report the instructions of the President.
“Right after our conversation, tinawagan ko po si Dating Speaker Martin Romualdez, at nireport ko ang instructions ng Presidente to insert the P100 billion projects, at sinabi niya sa akin ‘What the President wants, he gets,’” he said.
Additionally, Co said he informed Romualdez, Secretary Pangandaman, Undersecretary Bersamin, and Undersecretary Cadiz if it would be possible to insert only P50 billion in the budget, because the DPWH fund was excessive compared to the Department of Education (DedEd), but Pangandaman called him and said the President disagrees.
“Ang mensahe ng pangulo, ipasok ninyo yan dahil pinangako na sa akin ni Speaker Romualdez yan at hindi na pwedeng baguhin, kumbaga, ang utos ng hari, hindi pwedeng mabali,” Co stated.
In response, Malacañang rejected Co’s claims against the President, calling them mere hearsay.
“These wild accusations are completely without basis and fact. All the charges leveled against the President are pure hearsay,” Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez said.
“Let us not forget—President Marcos Jr. himself exposed all these flood control anomalies and has taken numerous steps since to ensure that the guilty are brought to justice, the stolen wealth recovered, and the system is fixed to avoid any of these from happening again,” Gomez said.
Gomez further stated that Co “should come back to the country and sign everything he said under oath with the proper judicial authorities.”
While Co has technically admits facilitating budget insertions during the 2025 budget bicameral conference, he is also accused of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects and maintaining ties with key contractors.
These public works initiatives are currently under scrutiny by the Senate and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure, with several allegedly using substandard materials or existing only on paper.
Article by Cheyne Formentera