In a bombshell video statement that threatens to ignite a constitutional firestorm, former congressman and longtime government contractor Zaldy Co has broken his silence, accusing the highest officials in the land of orchestrating a massive budget insertion.
Co, the man at the centre of the government's flood control scandal, alleged that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez 'masterminded' the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects into the 2025 budget, a plan he claims was delivered in what he 'believed to be' the President's own 'brown leather bag'.
The explosive allegation was delivered in a video sent by Co's office on Friday, 14 November. The timing adds a political sting, as the release coincides with the birthday of his former ally, Romualdez. Co, whose firm Sunwest bagged billions in projects while he chaired the appropriations committee, has now become the focal point of blame in a scandal that has sparked the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.
The 'Brown Bag' Allegation: Zaldy Co, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Martin Romualdez
The most vivid and specific detail of Co's accusation centres on this 'brown leather bag'. Detailing the alleged conspiracy, Co claimed that at the start of the bicameral conference committee deliberations for the 2025 budget last year, he received a call from Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman. He alleges Pangandaman informed him that the President had given instructions to make the multi-billion-peso insertions.
According to Co, Pangandaman told him he could verify the President's instructions with Adrian Bersamin, the head of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office, who was supposedly in the meeting with Marcos that day. Co claimed Bersamin did confirm the directive.
The plan allegedly culminated in a meeting with Co, Romualdez, Pangandaman, and Bersamin, where they handed him P100 billion in government projects. Co stated the document was supposedly inside a brown leather bag that he 'believed to be owned by the President'.
The Objection: Zaldy Co, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Martin Romualdez
Co claims he attempted to push back, not on the insertion itself, but on the amount. He says he warned the group that P100 billion was too high and suggested a smaller figure.
'After a few days, I informed former speaker Martin Romualdez, Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, and Undersecretary Jojo Cadiz that only P50 billion should be inserted into the program funds because the Department of Public Works and Highways funds would end up exceeding the Department of Education's. In practice, the DPWH budget cannot be higher than the education budget', Co said in the video statement.
His objection, however, was allegedly overruled by the President himself. 'A day later, Secretary Amenah called me and said, "The President's message is: include it because Speaker Martin promised that to me, and it can no longer be changed"', he added.
The 'Scapegoat': Zaldy Co, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Martin Romualdez
Co also used the statement to paint himself as a victim, set up to be the 'poster boy' for the administration's 'own lies'. This part of his statement appears crafted to answer the 'Who is Zaldy Co?' question from a different angle: a key insider allegedly betrayed. He claimed he left the Philippines on 19 July for a medical check-up abroad, but was then asked by Romualdez not to return home.
'I followed. But what I didn't know was that when they said they would "take care of me", what they really meant was that they would use me as a scapegoat in their anti-corruption campaign', Co said.
The Counter-Argument: Ping Lacson on Zaldy Co, Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Martin Romualdez
When asked to comment on Co's exposé, Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson offered a sharp critique, suggesting Co's claims defy the basic logic of the budget process.
Lacson argued that the budget process begins with the National Expenditure Programme (NEP), which originates from the Executive branch and over which the President has 'complete control'. If Marcos wanted to add P100 billion, he could have simply ordered the Department of Budget and Management to include it in the NEP from the very beginning.
'Why would he insert P100 billion sa bicam samantalang sa NEP kaya niyang gawin iyon? Second, bakit niya vineto (Why would he insert P100 billion at the bicam when he can do that in the NEP? Second, why did he veto [the budget insertions])?', Lacson questioned.
This second point highlights a major contradiction. On 30 December 2024, President Marcos famously vetoed P194 billion in line items from the 2025 budget, stating they 'are not consistent with our priorities'. This included P26.065 billion in DPWH projects.
Lacson's point raises the critical question: why would the President personally order insertions, allegedly from his own 'brown leather bag', only to veto them weeks later?
Zaldy Co's bombshell statement presents a tale of two realities: a 'scapegoat's' detailed account of a P100-billion plan delivered in the President's 'brown leather bag', versus the hard logic that the same President later vetoed those very insertions. With the man at the centre of the flood control scandal now pointing directly at the Palace, the public is left to wonder who is telling the truth.
