Opposition lawmaker: Impeachment unlikely

An opposition lawmaker warned that impeachment is currently the only way to hold President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accountable for alleged anomalies in the multi-billion-peso flood control projects, citing the president’s immunity from prosecution as a major shield against allegations.

The lawmaker, however, expressed skepticism that any impeachment complaint would gain traction in the House of Representatives, underscoring the political challenges of pursuing accountability at the highest level of government.

“I doubt any impeachment complaint will be filed in the House,” said Kamanggagawa Rep. Eli San Fernando, pointing to Marcos’ strong backing in the chamber.

Co is also liable

San Fernando said former lawmaker Elizaldy Co’s damning allegations linking President Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the allegedly graft-tainted 2025 budget carry weight — but they do not absolve Co of his own potential corruption liability, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday.

He contended that Co is “equally accountable” alongside Marcos and Romualdez if the allegations of billions of kickback are proven true, given his active role in drafting the national budget as the former chairman of the House committee on appropriations.

However, since the videos uploaded by Co are considered unsworn statements, San Fernando said they are not admissible in court unless he returns to the country and takes an oath.

“For Zaldy Co’s statements to carry more bearing or weight, he should return so that he could state his accusations against President Bongbong Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez under oath,” he stated in Filipino in an interview.

Co alleged that Marcos was the architect behind the P100 billion in insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), receiving a staggering P25 billion cut. He claimed that he only complied with the President’s marching order but did not receive a cent from the alleged kickbacks.

According to the resigned lawmaker, all the funds from the budget insertions allegedly went directly to Marcos and Romualdez, reportedly delivered by his staff to locations at Malacañang and Forbes Park.

Part two of Co’s video exposé, uploaded to his official Facebook page on Saturday, showed digital shots of nearly 300 suitcases purportedly delivered to the President and the former speaker from January 2024 to May of this year.

Captions on photos of the 3 June and 2 October 2024 deliveries show the largest cash transfer — P1 billion — going to a person identified only as “RR.”

Marcos urged to address issue

In response, Marcos said he “won’t dignify” Co’s claims, while Romualdez insisted his conscience is clear and that the allegations “don’t hold water in a court of law.”

Meanwhile, Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña asserted that it’s high time for Marcos to address the issue head-on and refrain from downplaying such a grave accusation. He said the President and key officials of Malacañang, who are embroiled in large-scale corruption tied to the flood control, have a lot to explain to the public; otherwise, his silence would only fuel widespread protests demanding accountability and his resignation.

Nonetheless, Cendaña said the timing of Co’s “tell-all” video raises suspicions that it could be a calculated attempt by certain forces to destabilize the administration and pave the way for Vice President Sara Duterte’s ascent to the presidency.

“After months of silence and hiding, why is it being released now? And why is it coinciding with the political events in our country? So, it really makes us wonder: what is the agenda behind releasing this video at a time when there is a major movement taking place?” the minority solin said in Filipino in a separate interview.

House to probe BBM?

According to San Fernando, while the Chief Executive is immune from suit, the House can launch a probe into the corruption allegation against Marcos to determine its merit.

He emphasized that the chamber cannot just brush aside Co’s accusation, given that he was a prominent figure in the previous Congress and probably knows the business dealings of the administration.

“There is a space for us to take a look into the accusation, allegations made by former representative Zaldy Co, because again, he was the former appropriations committee chair, and the House leadership definitely knows what he’s doing,” he averred.

The 2025 GAA, derided by critics as the “most corrupt budget in history,” was slashed from P6.352 trillion to P6.326 trillion after Marcos vetoed P194 billion worth of line items deemed inconsistent with his administration’s priority programs, including P16.7 billion for flood control projects.

In his fourth State of the Nation Address in July, the President warned members of Congress that he would not approve a proposed budget that deviates from the Malacañang-endorsed National Expenditure Program, regardless of whether it results in a reenacted budget.

The stern warning came in response to alleged massive congressional insertions in the 2025 GAA, reportedly orchestrated by the bicameral conference committee made up of selected House and Senate members.