Co tags BBM, Romualdez in budget insertions

Zaldy claims ex-speaker told him to stay out of Phl

- JOSE RODEL CLAPANO

Speaking publicly for the first time since going into hiding, resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co alleged that President Marcos ordered the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects into the 2025 national budget during the bicameral conference committee last year.

In a video statement, Co said that resigned House speaker Martin Romualdez, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin all had “direct knowledge” of the controversial insertions.

Pangandaman supposedly informed Co at the start of the 2024 bicam process that “their meeting with the President has just been finished and there was an instruction to insert P100 billion worth of projects in bicam.”

She allegedly directed Co to confirm the matter with Bersamin, who affirmed that Marcos issued the instruction.

After receiving this confirmation, Co reported the matter to Romualdez, who allegedly replied: "What the President wants, he gets."

A few days later, Pangandaman and Bersamin arranged a meeting with him and Romualdez at the Aguado building near Malacañang, with Justice Undersecretary Jojo Cadiz present, Co claimed.

During that meeting, Co said Bersamin handed him a project list worth P100 billion, allegedly "from PBBM himself," taken from a "brown leather bag."