The alleged flow of cash from questionable flood control projects has taken on a staggering dimension, as a former security consultant of Rep. Zaldy Co claimed that deliveries of money-packed suitcases to former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s residence occurred as often as three times a week, each suitcase containing about P48 million.
At a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, Orly Regala Guteza, who served as Co’s security aide from December 2024 to August 2025, testified that he personally handled and transported what he called “trash” – a code word for cash.
He said the deliveries averaged three times weekly from Co’s residence to Romualdez’s property.
“Before the said ‘trash’ is brought down, it is already reduced. For example, if we bring up 46 suitcases, only 35 will be brought down to be delivered to House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s residence in Taguig. The remaining 11 suitcases are left at Cong. Zaldy Co’s house,” Guteza said in Filipino.
He added: “Sometimes, when we are on duty, the actual delivery to Cong. Romualdez reaches three times. And sometimes, when we are on duty, I monitor our group chat… it happens three times a week at Forbes, at Cong. Romualdez’s house. The money sometimes comes from Horizon, from the 56th floor, then it is brought down.”
With each suitcase holding around P48 million, deliveries averaging three per week translate to roughly 105 suitcases monthly – or about P5 billion moved between residences in just a single month.
Guteza recalled being directed to load the suitcases into vehicles, drive them from Co’s Valle Verde 6 property in Pasig or Horizon Residences in Taguig, and then deliver them to Romualdez’s house.
The revelations, if proven, underscore the scale of alleged kickbacks tied to government-funded flood control projects, a sector long flagged by oversight bodies for fund misuse.
Neither Co nor Romualdez has issued a comment regarding Guteza’s testimony as of press time.