Senate Committee on Finance chair Sherwin Gatchalian has challenged resigned AKO BICOL Party-list Congressman Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co to return to the Philippines and personally face the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, instead of releasing videos and issuing allegations against his former allies.

Gatchalian made the statement after Co resurfaced online, months after going into hiding, and accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of ordering the insertion of P100 billion worth of flood control projects into the proposed 2025 national budget, allegedly in coordination with Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

“What’s for me is basic. If you have nothing to hide, you have to be here physically in the hearing and face the questions and accusations against you. Hindi yung nagtatago tapos gagawa ka ng video at kung ano-ano ang sinasabi mo. I think the physical is the most important thing na mag-vi-vindicate sayo,” Gatchalian said in an ambush interview.

AI-aided video?

Gatchalian also raised the possibility that the video may not even be authentic, noting the stark change in Co’s appearance.

“Dapat talagang kilatisin mabuti ang kanyang sinasabi and also the legality ng kanyang mga sinasabi. Nasa abroad sya eh, so, hindi natin alam kung legal ba ang kanyang ginagawa, or kaharap ba nya ang mga taga-Embassy. So maraming tanong, it’s too early to say and conclude,” he said.

The video showed a thin and pale Co — a far cry from how he looked prior to leaving the country. Gatchalian added that Co’s medical certificate is no longer valid, noting that it was dated January 2025.

Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chair and Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson earlier said Co could not attend the hearings, even via videoconference, as he is undergoing medical evaluation in the United States.

“If he is firm on his allegations, then pumunta sya dito. Hindi ako papayag na Zoom, that’s a bad precedent because madaling magsinungaling, walang accountability. Dapat pumunta sya dito kasi almost members are saying na kailangan nya ditong pumunta,” Gatchalian stressed.

Should Co continue to evade the next hearing, Gatchalian said the Senate will issue a subpoena and a show cause order, and if still defied, Co would be cited in contempt — paving the way for a warrant of arrest.

Aside from Co, Gatchalian also urged former Co consultant Orly Guteza to appear. Guteza earlier claimed he personally delivered suitcases of kickback money to the residence of Speaker Romualdez in Forbes Park.

Gatchalian said Friday’s Blue Ribbon hearing would be the last before the Senate turns over the investigation to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.

2025 budget insertions to be reviewed

On Co’s allegations that President Marcos ordered the budget insertions, Gatchalian said he recalls that Marcos vetoed more than ₱160 billion worth of projects.

“That we have to check. That is why we have to see the entire context of his revelations, of what had happened in the entire bicameral conference and the budget hearing. There are many things to validate,” he said.

He urged the public not to immediately accept Co’s claims, warning that different groups might exploit the controversy to sow unrest — similar to what occurred during the P1 Trillion March in Mendiola on 21 September.