Former congressman Elizaldy Co has alleged that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. personally instructed him to include P100 billion worth of projects in the 2025 national budget.

Co, who chaired the House appropriations committee, said the instructions came via Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the start of the bicameral budget process in 2024.

“Right after our conversation, tinawagan ko po si Dating Speaker Martin Romualdez, at nireport ko ang instructions ng Presidente to insert the P100 billion projects, at sinabi niya sa akin ‘What the President wants, he gets,’” Co said.

According to Co, Pangandaman later scheduled a meeting with him, Romualdez, and two undersecretaries at the Aguado Building inside Malacañang, where the full list of projects was handed over.

Documents released by Co’s office show that of the alleged P100 billion, more than P81 billion went to the Department of Public Works and Highways, while the rest—over P18.7 billion—was allocated to the Office of the President, the Philippine Coconut Authority, the National Electrification Administration, the National Housing Authority, and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

Co said he even tried to split the funds, inserting only P50 billion into programmed projects and putting the remainder into unprogrammed appropriations to protect education’s share of the budget—but Pangandaman rejected the idea.

“Pagkatapos ng isang araw tinawagan ako ni Sec. Mina at sinabi ang mensahe ng Pangulo, ipasok ninyo ‘yan dahil ipinangako na sa akin ng Speaker Martin ‘yan, at hindi na pwedeng baguhin. Kumbaga ang utos ng hari, hindi pwedeng mabali. Again, I informed the Speaker and asked clearance about the instructions ng Pangulo, at ang sabi niya, ‘Wala tayong magagawa,’” Co said.

He added that he is baffled by the President’s claims that he “cannot recognize the budget,” arguing that all government adjustments require Pangandaman’s approval.

“Kaya po nagtataka ako kung bakit sinasabi ni Pangulo na hindi niya makilala ang budget, samantalang lahat na ibinawas at idinagdag sa mga ahensya ng gobyerno ay humihingi ng approval sa kanya si Sec. Mina Pangandaman,” he said.

Co also alleged that Romualdez prevented him from returning to the Philippines after a medical check-up abroad.

“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. They made me the poster boy of their own lies,” Co said.

The former congressman has become the center of blame in the government’s massive flood control scandal, which has triggered the largest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Co, a longtime contractor, founded Sunwest Corporation, a construction firm that won billions in government projects while he chaired the appropriations committee. He now faces multiple allegations over the 2025 budget and related infrastructure contracts.

At Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearings, contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya named Co and other lawmakers as recipients of alleged kickbacks after their firms secured government contracts. Former Bulacan First District engineering officials Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez also implicated Co in the alleged scheme.

Sunwest, meanwhile, reportedly became one of the top 15 contractors for flood control projects.

The former solon has denied wrongdoing, insisting he will answer allegations in the proper forum.

“Scripted”

Meanwhile, critics questioned whether Co’s statement was politically motivated ahead of the upcoming “anti-corruption rally,” if not outright scripted.

“Mukhang legit na sana ang testimony but because of that specific timeframe, you can tell na he is lying and his exposé has ulterior agenda,” said Rhadem M in a Facebook post.

AJS called Co’s statement impossible. “Oo nga, impossible na ‘yan lang sa daming questionable contracts behind Sunwest.”

Others, like Chol M., called Co’s statement incomplete and suggested someone is hiding something. “Napaka off nung 2024 sa statement niya… halatang hindi complete truth.”

“Ang tanong ko lang kay Zaldy Co, parang sobrang tanga naman ni BBM na hinintay pa ang bicam para mag-insert ng 100B e pwede na niya isaksak ‘yun sa NEP pa lang? #JustAsking,” said Professor Cielo Magno.

📷 Screengrab from Zaldy Co’s video