Davao Rep. Paolo Duterte has urged the House of Representatives to investigate the “disturbing disclosures” made by his ex-colleague Elizaldy Co against President Marcos Jr. and former speaker Martin Romualdez involving the purported kickbacks from the P100-billion in insertions in the graft-tainted 2025 budget. 

In House Resolution 488 filed on Tuesday, Duterte flagged Marcos’ possible violation of the separation of powers by meddling with the budget process and adding P100 billion in project insertions, as alleged by Co.

“[T]he sheer scale and detail of these allegations may not be overlooked, as these disturbing disclosures also point to the interference of the Office of the President (OP) contrary to the principles of transparency and separation of powers,” the resolution reads.

While the OP, through the Department of Budget and Management, drafts the annual budget, the power of the purse is vested exclusively in Congress, which could realign, reduce, or scrap funding.

In a three-part video exposé uploaded to his official Facebook page over the weekend, Co alleged Marcos orchestrated the insertion of P100 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), of which P56 billion purportedly went straight to the President and former speaker. 

Co also showed digital shots of nearly 300 suitcases allegedly delivered to Marcos and Romualdez at Malacanang and Forbes Park from January 2024 to May of this year.

Co, on the other hand, denied receiving a cent from the alleged insertions and claimed he was only made to do the insertions, in his capacity as the former chair of the House committee on appropriations, in compliance with the President’s marching order. 

Marcos and Romualdez dismissed Co’s accusations because they were not sworn under oath. 

Marcos asserted that he “won’t dignify” Co’s allegations, while Romualdez reiterated that his conscience “remains clear” and that the imputations of his ex-close ally “do not hold water in the court of law.”

Duterte, however, argued that Co’s allegations warrant a congressional probe, especially a deeper look into a possible undue influence of the President in the budgetary process, in violation of the Constitution. 

The independent lawmaker, who is critical of the administration, also took into consideration the “detailed list” presented by Co, revealing the alleged names of projects, corresponding amounts, and contractors for the P100 billion insertions. 

“[T]his list may necessitate a deeper investigation to shed light on the truthfulness of the former Representative’s claims,” he said. 

Enough basis to impeach Marcos?

According to minority lawmakers Eli San Fernando and Perci Cendaña, any move to dethrone Marcos is still premature, saying that Co’s allegations alone do not constitute a strong case for impeachment, given that it was an unsworn statement. 

San Fernando, over the weekend, told Daily Tribune that the 28-member minority bloc has no plans yet to file an impeachment case, although they believe Marcos “must be subjected to an investigation.”

Given that the House is dominated by the supermajority supportive of the President, San Fernando doubts that any effort to remove him from office will gain traction. 

“Right now, the only way to hold the President accountable, or make him answerable for his alleged role in flood control anomalies, is through impeachment,” he told Daily Tribune in an interview. “But I doubt if an impeachment will be filed or progressed in the House of Representatives.”

Cendaña, for his part, posits that there’s no compelling reason yet to impeach the President, pointing to a lack of strong evidence.

“There remains no compelling reason because we believe any impeachment complaint must be founded on facts and evidence,” Cendaña said in a briefing on Wednesday.

Cendaña has raised suspicions that Co’s alleged testimony was a calculated effort to destabilize the government, citing the timing of the video's release, which almost coincided with the two-day Iglesia Ni Cristo rally and similar anti-corruption protests. 

Nevertheless, the minority bloc also maintained that Marcos must be made answerable to the kickback accusations, given their gravity, and the alleged involvement of his Cabinet secretaries, including former Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and former Budget and Management Secretary Ameenah Pangandaman, who resigned earlier this week.