After a blitz of allegations against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his son, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy Co fired off another blistering accusation, this time linking First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos to agricultural smuggling that once caused the prices of rice and onions to soar. 

Co released the sixth installment of his so-called video exposés, explicitly accusing Mrs. Marcos of meddling in the internal affairs of the House of Representatives by ordering then Speaker Martin Romualdez to freeze the inquiry into the onion smuggling and cartel in early 2023. 

This was allegedly because Martin Araneta, the First Lady’s brother, was involved in the scheme and the price manipulation that pushed onion prices to unprecedented levels. 

“The speaker said he was called by First Lady Liza Marcos who asked him to stop the investigation,” Co said. 

“That’s why it didn’t push through, and no one was punished [because] apparently the importation of onions was controlled by the First Lady’s brother,” he added.

“Painful as it may be to accept, but this is the reality. The most powerful family is directly involved in this system. From the President and the First Lady down to their children. They set the rules, control, and profit from transactions that are supposedly for the public good,” Co said.

Co was referring to the motu proprio probe launched by a House panel in the previous Congress, following the sharp increase in onion prices ranging from P500 to P600 per kilo for red onions in the last quarter of 2022.

Artificial rice price spikes

The spike in prices was initially attributed to a supposed supply shortage, but the House probe later revealed that cartels, hoarders, and smugglers had artificially inflated the price of the commodity. 

It was alleged that Martin Araneta was in cahoots with Michael Ma, president of China-Philippine United Enterprises, to control the supply of onions, causing the price to skyrocket — an allegation the First Lady flatly denied last year. 

However, according to Co, Araneta’s alleged involvement in the smuggling and hoarding wasn’t limited to onions but included rice. 

In late 2024, the House also launched a sweeping investigation into the alarming surge in rice prices, which reached as high as P60 per kilo.

But the investigation was supposedly suspended upon the request of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr., who allegedly learned from a “confidential report” that the First Lady was the key player behind the rice price manipulation.

“It stated there that the First Lady controlled the rice importers. According to Secretary Laurel, the First Lady would be affected if the investigation proceeded,” Co claimed.

Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, the eldest son of President Marcos, also allegedly asked Romualdez to halt the investigation into the rice crisis “as instructed” by his father.

“That’s when we realized that even after lowering the import tax on rice from 35 percent to 15 percent, prices in the market still hadn’t dropped. This was because of the numerous SOPs and remittances required in every transaction,” Co said. 

SOP used in midterm polls

SOPs or “standard operating procedures” refers to a cut or a commission kicked back to the proponents of a transaction.

Co alleged that billions in SOPs from the Bureau of Customs and sugar firms were used to bankroll the campaigns of administration-backed candidates at both the national and local levels in the 2025 midterm elections.

Rice prices remained drastically high despite reports of an excess supply, declining global rice prices, and the enforcement in July 2024 of Executive Order 62, which reduced the tariff on rice imports from 35 percent to 15 percent. 

As a result, the DA declared a food security emergency in February to curb the rising rice prices. This allowed for the release of buffer stocks at a lower price in selected areas, such as P20 per kilo in Cebu.

The DA’s latest monitoring showed that the retail price of imported special rice is at P58.35 per kilo, while local special rice is priced at P56.92 per kilo.

The figures are still a far cry from the President’s target of P20 per kilo. 

Earlier, Co accused Marcos of orchestrating the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects in this year’s national budget, 25 percent of which allegedly went straight to the President in a kickback.

Co also alleged that Rep. Marcos funneled over P50 billion in infrastructure projects from 2023 to the present, a claim the latter categorically denied. 

Meanwhile, Co’s legal counsel, Ruy Rondain, debunked President Marcos’ imputation that their camp attempted to “blackmail” him by promising to stop releasing videos against the administration in exchange for not revoking Co’s passport. 

Rondain dismissed this as “completely untrue,” claiming that he has “not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate” such a deal. 

“As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videos,” the lawyer said.

Co left the Philippines in July and has remained headstrong about staying abroad despite an arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan for a “grossly substandard” flood control project in Oriental Mindoro with a price tag of P289.5 million. 

The project in question was awarded to Sunwest Inc., an Albay-based construction firm reportedly owned by Co.

Counsel tried ‘blackmail’

In a rebuttal to the increasingly damaging revelations of Co, President Marcos alleged that his lawyer attempted to “blackmail” the government by urging officials not to cancel Co’s passport in exchange for halting the release of more online videos containing accusations against the administration.

In his latest report to the nation on the flood control probe, Marcos said Co’s lawyer approached Malacañang and claimed that if the government cancels the invalidation of Co’s passport, he will stop releasing his “tell-all” videos online, a move the President flatly rejected.

“A lawyer representing Zaldy Co approached us and attempted to blackmail us — saying that if we don’t cancel his passport, he will stop releasing videos,” Marcos said.

“I do not negotiate with criminals,” the President added. “Even if you release more lies, your passport will still be canceled.”

Co, who has been linked to alleged corruption in flood-control projects, has been releasing a series of online videos accusing various officials, including the President and former House speaker Martin Romualdez, of wrongdoing.

The government earlier said Co is the subject of a blue notice request, allowing law enforcement agencies abroad to track his movement.

The President’s statement comes as the Anti-Money Laundering Council secured two freeze orders covering P12 billion in assets associated with the ongoing flood-control probe, including properties connected to Co.

These assets include aircraft, bank accounts, insurance policies, vehicles, real estate and e-wallet accounts.

Marcos reiterated that the asset freeze is part of the administration’s commitment to recover public funds lost to corruption.

“The people’s money will be returned to the people,” he said.