"If you wanted an additional budget, you would pay 20 percent to Zaldy Co."

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco alleged this was the backdoor scheme behind the multibillion-peso flood control controversy first brought to national attention during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s 2025 State of the Nation Address.

Speaking on DAILY TRIBUNE's Straight Talk, Tiangco said he first learned of the alleged practice after returning to the House of Representatives in 2022 following his stint as mayor of Navotas City.

"When I came back to Congress in 2022, discussions on the 2023 budget were already ongoing. I heard about the buying of projects," he said.

Tiangco said his findings led him to publicly identify former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as key figures in the alleged scheme.

Co chaired the powerful House Committee on Appropriations at the start of the 19th Congress until January 2025, including during the passage of the controversial 2025 General Appropriations Act.

The lawmaker clarified he could not say whether the alleged practice started only during the 19th Congress or had existed under previous House leadership.

He claimed both lawmakers and private contractors could allegedly acquire projects through Co.

"Let's say you are a contractor. You'd tell Zaldy, 'I want one billion worth of projects.' You will pay 20 percent, which is P200 million. Then you will decide the type of projects you will create, and they will insert it into the budget," Tiangco alleged.

According to him, while some insertions occurred during bicameral conference committee deliberations, the larger allocations were already embedded in the National Expenditure Program.

Tiangco said he had no personal knowledge linking President Marcos to the alleged scheme, noting instead that the President suspended the implementation of billions of pesos worth of questioned projects.

"From what I know, as of the end of July 2025, about P60 billion worth of projects from the P209 billion House insertions were not implemented because they were questionable," he said.

He further alleged that many of the projects were placed under the budget's non-allocable portion to prevent lawmakers from altering or removing them during deliberations.

"The problem with non-allocable is that since they know it cannot be changed, the bought projects are placed there so they cannot be changed," Tiangco said.

He also claimed the scheme contributed to the sharp increase in unprogrammed appropriations, alleging purchased projects were later shifted into that portion of the budget.

Reflecting on the investigation nearly a year after President Marcos' "Mahiya naman kayo" SONA speech, Tiangco expressed disappointment that only what he described as "small fish" had so far been arrested.

"The people detained are the DPWH officials and contractors. The people who sold the projects have not been arrested because DPWH cannot bid out projects that were not inserted into the budget," he said.

Tiangco maintained that Co was the central figure in the alleged operation and said he found it difficult to believe the scheme could have operated without Romualdez's knowledge.

"The root of all corruption is the selling of projects and the selling of the budget. I cannot believe that Zaldy Co sold all those projects without the knowledge of former Speaker Martin Romualdez," he said.

The allegations come as the Office of the Ombudsman conducts a preliminary investigation into plunder and money laundering complaints against Romualdez and Co.

Both officials have repeatedly denied wrongdoing. Romualdez's camp has said the former Speaker remains in Leyte serving as representative of the province's 1st District, while Co has reportedly sought political asylum abroad.