Former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co is once again under intense scrutiny after testimonies revealed that his mansion in Valle Verde allegedly served as a private vault for stacks of cash. The revelation connects directly to the ₱35 billion flood control projects he allegedly inserted into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget between 2022 and 2025.
According to former DPWH Assistant District Engineer Brice Hernandez, cash deliveries packed in luggage were regularly transported to Co’s home on Ladybug Street, Valle Verde 6, from 2023 to 2025. Each delivery reportedly required seven vehicles, with each large bag containing ₱50 million in cash and smaller ones holding ₱30 million to ₱40 million. Hernandez said it was only during his final delivery in early 2025 that he realized the house was being used exclusively to store cash—there was no furniture inside, just stacks of luggage filled with money.
“This was also the instance where he discovered that the said house was exclusively used as a storage of the cash deliveries made to Cong. Co, as there was no furniture inside—only pieces of luggage coming from different sources,” the ICI report based on Hernandez’s testimony read.
Additional deliveries were allegedly made to Co’s penthouse at The Shangri-La at The Fort in Bonifacio Global City, where his chief of staff, Paul Estrada, reportedly received the funds in the basement. The ICI’s interim report also identified Co as the key figure behind the suspiciously inflated infrastructure budget for Bulacan’s first district, a pattern investigators now describe as a “systemic diversion of public funds” under the guise of flood control projects.
Co, who chaired the House appropriations committee from 2022 until early 2025, resigned in September 2025 as the scandal escalated. Beyond the flood control funds, he has been linked to the Department of Education’s overpriced laptop deal, the ₱500-million Philippine National Police intelligence fund insertion, and alleged attempts to influence the Bureau of Immigration’s electronic gates procurement.
From government projects to high-end real estate, Co’s alleged dealings paint a picture of how public money meant for national infrastructure may have ended up stored inside luxury homes. The flood control scandal, once viewed as another case of bureaucratic corruption, has now evolved into one of the biggest political firestorms of 2025.
