Co's claim linking BBM to P100B insertion hit

Former Rep. Elizaldy Co opened another can of worms after confessing to having a hand in a P100-billion insertion in the 2025 national budget. His claims, however, have cast doubt among analysts, who say the embattled lawmaker is being inconsistent.

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Ronald Llamas, political analyst and former presidential political affairs adviser to the late Benigno Aquino III, described Co's claim that President Bongbong Marcos ordered the insertion as quite "illogical" when the first budget proposal comes from the executive branch.

At the same time, he said budget revisions during the bicameral conference proceedings are made and approved by representatives from both the House and Senate. However, Co did not name any senator in his supposed "tell-all" video messages.

"If you want to include something, just insert it there. It seems kind of weird for the president to order an insertion into his own budget that he supposedly made himself," he said in Filipino over ANC's "Headstart" on Monday, November 17.

For him, it doesn't make sense for the president to complicate the insertion by involving other players.

'CULPABLE AT THE VERY LEAST'