Resigned Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co released the first part of what he describes as a tell-all Facebook post accusing President Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of directing the insertion of up to ₱100 billion into the 2025 national budget.
Co also accused the administration of using government resources to pressure him into silence. He said he had received a direct order not to return to the Philippines and to remain quiet. According to him, he left the country on July 19, 2025, for a medical check-up and had planned to return after the President’s State of the Nation Address, but claimed that Romualdez called while he was preparing to fly home and instructed him to stay abroad. Co said he was assured he would be “taken care of,” allegedly under the President’s instruction.
He said he initially complied and remained silent because he believed he was being protected, but later felt he was being made a scapegoat in what he described as the administration’s anti-corruption messaging. Co also alleged that he had been threatened with being shot if he spoke publicly. In the first part of his post, Co said he now intends to reveal everything he knows, claiming he has “receipts, evidence, and names.” He acknowledged public anger toward him but urged the nation to hear his full account before forming judgment, adding that this Facebook post is only the beginning of what he plans to disclose.
Co said the budget controversy began when Budget Secretary Amenah “Mina” Pangandaman called him in 2024 and relayed what he said was President Marcos Jr.’s instruction to insert ₱100 billion worth of projects into the budget during the bicameral conference. Pangandaman allegedly told him he could verify the directive with Finance Undersecretary Adrian Cristobal Bersamin, who Co said confirmed it. Co said he immediately informed Romualdez, who replied, “What the President wants, he gets.”
Co described a meeting at the Aguado Building near Malacañang’s Gate 4, attended by Pangandaman, Bersamin, Joseph “Jojo” Cadiz, and Romualdez. He said Bersamin handed him a document listing ₱100 billion worth of projects, which Bersamin allegedly said came directly from the President and had been taken from a “brown leather bag.”
He said the mention of the bag reminded him of an incident in May 2022, when he, Romualdez, and Marcos were in Singapore staying at a Hilton hotel during post-election travel. Co recalled members of the Presidential Security Group rushing to secure the same bag and said Marcos told them, “maiwan na ang lahat, ’wag lang ang brown leather bag.” According to him, that moment reinforced his belief that the instruction to insert the projects genuinely came from the President.
Co said he later informed Pangandaman, Bersamin, Cadiz, and Romualdez that placing the entire ₱100 billion under program funds would create an imbalance between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Department of Education (DepEd) He said he proposed allocating only ₱50 billion under program funds and placing the remaining ₱50 billion under unprogrammed appropriations, which are released through the Office of the President.
The following day, Co said Pangandaman called him again, relaying what she described as a direct message from President Marcos Jr. According to Co, Pangandaman told him that the President wanted the full ₱100 billion inserted because Romualdez had already promised it to him, and that the decision could no longer be changed. Co said the message was final — “kumbaga ang utos ng hari, hindi pwedeng mabali,” he said.
Co said he informed Romualdez once again about the instruction, seeking clarity on how to proceed. According to him, Romualdez replied that “wala tayong magagawa.” Co then questioned why the President publicly claims he does not recognize the budget when, according to him, every addition and reduction within government agencies requires the President’s approval. He said these directives, he believed, were relayed through Budget Secretary Pangandaman.
The post ends with a brief closing card indicating that a second part of his disclosures is forthcoming.
