PBBM tagged in flood mess

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was directly linked to the multibillion-peso flood control projects scandal in a revelation made by embattled former Ako Bicol Representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, who posted a video taken in an undisclosed location abroad.

The disclosure followed a prolonged silence from Co, who is believed to be shuttling between countries to evade authorities as multiple investigating bodies have sought his testimony on the anomalous flood control projects.

In his official Facebook account, Co uploaded an almost six-minute-long video titled “Part 1” explaining what was behind the corruption mess, and pointing to President Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez as being responsible for his stay overseas.

“To every Filipino, I know that you are very angry with me now. I also understand why, especially since it is of great importance,” Co said in Filipino.

“But before you judge, let me explain the whole truth. I haven’t spoken in a long time because I had a direct order — ‘do not return to the Philippines and remain silent,’” he said.

Co said he left for the United States on 19 July for a medical checkup and planned to return to the country after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SoNA) on 28 July. However, he said, Romualdez called and told him to stay out of the country.

“You will be well taken care of as instructed by the President. At that time, I still believed in them. That’s why I didn’t return,” Co said.

According to the former lawmaker, he believed the promise that he would be taken care of, unaware that he would become the “poster boy” for the alleged lies of the two top officials.

“Now I will not remain silent. I will reveal all the truth. There is a receipt, there is evidence, and there are names,” Co said.

He said the budget manipulation began when Budget and Management Secretary Amenah Pangandaman phoned him at the start of the bicameral conference committee (bicam) proceedings in 2024. Co was chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations at the time.

He said Pangandaman relayed an instruction from the President to insert P100 billion worth of projects during the bicam process.

Co said Undersecretary Adrian Carlos Bersamin of the Office of the Executive Secretary was part of the meeting and can confirm Pangandaman’s statement.

“Right after our conversation, I called former Speaker Romualdez and I reported the instructions of the President to insert the P100 billion worth of projects,” Co said in the video.

“He told me, what the President wants, he gets,” Co said.

Co posted the alleged list of projects supposedly ordered by the President to be inserted. The list included a ₱5.4-billion project for the Office of the President, marked for the 2026 ASEAN Summit and related meetings.

Co claimed that during his meeting with Usec. Bersamin, the list — said to have come from the President — was handed to him inside a brown leather bag.

Mystery in brown leather bag

“When Bersamin told me about the brown leather bag. I remembered when we were in Singapore, right after the May 2022 elections, at the Hilton Hotel, former Speaker Martin, PBBM, and I were on our way back to the Philippines. A PSG (Presidential Security Guard) official carried the brown leather bag, and PBBM said, ‘Leave everything, just not the brown leather bag,’” Co said.

Co, after reviewing the list, questioned the budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and asked Romualdez, Pangandaman, Bersamin and Justice Undersecretary Jose Cadiz Jr. whether it was possible to insert just P50 billion for DPWH, given the practice of prioritizing education in the national budget.

The DBM secretary called him the day after and said that the President insisted on continuing with the insertion, as Romualdez had already promised it.

“In other words, the order of the King cannot be changed,” Co said.

Co said he wondered how the President could consider the budget unrecognizable, given that he approved all the reductions and additions to government agencies through Pangandaman.

Palace fights back

In a press briefing late Friday, Presidential Communications Office (PCO) acting Secretary Dave Gomez, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, and PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro held a briefing to refute Co’s bombshell revelation.

Gomez rebutted Co’s accusation as “completely without basis in fact” and “pure hearsay.”

“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 this from happening again,” Gomez said.

He urged Co to return to the Philippines and make his statement under oath.

Pangandaman, for her part, emphasized that budget insertions were done in Congress, not by the executive branch.

“The bicameral conference is purely under the power of the legislature. We respect and strictly follow the budget process, and all our actions are above board,” she said.

“If you recall the budget process, the executive had been preparing the President’s budget and National Expenditure Program for six months. According to the Constitution, we have 30 days after the SoNA to submit the National Expenditure Program to Congress. And according to the Constitution, after we submit the budget to Congress, we will have briefings, right? So, the executive also did that to explain what the President’s budget and the National Expenditure Program are,” Pangandaman pointed out.

Hunt for Co

Malacañang was firm that the fate of Co rested on the cases that will be filed in the Ombudsman.

“As far as we know, there are pending complaints filed against him, and I hope the Ombudsman can expedite the resolution of these cases. And if they can recommend anything, for dismissal or for filing of the case in the Sandiganbayan, I hope it will be expedited because the people are also waiting for quick action,” Castro said.

Castro explained that Co may not yet be forced to return to the country or have his passport canceled, as he has not been formally charged before Philippine courts.

Wait for Part 2

While Malacañang said it was not taking any further steps against Co. beyond denying his claims, Castro said there is a second part to the lawmakers’ “revelations.”

“There is still part 2, he said ‘stay tuned for part 2.’ It seems like it’s only part 1. So, he’ll probably make up a new story because he’s heard what we said,” she said.

“So, let’s stay tuned for what other twisted stories you’ll hear from him. So be cautious,” she added.

There was no confirmed group or individual behind Co and his statements, but Malacañang believes it may be obstructionists or destabilizers, or just the lawmaker’s world getting smaller.