House parties caution vs Co’s statements
Several political parties in the House of Representatives have cautioned the public against the statements made by former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, noting that the accusations leveled against President Marcos and other key officials were not made under oath and remain unsubstantiated.
In a press briefing on Monday, Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno announced that different House parties remain committed to supporting the majority and that they were not confused with the former party list lawmaker’s statements.
Co broke his silence over the flood control mess, releasing videos from Friday to Saturday claiming that the President was behind P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 budget.
He also backed statements made by a Senate witness that money in several pieces of luggage were delivered to Mr. Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
“So here we have the representatives of the five major parties that comprise the majority in Congress. I guess at this level we can already see that there is a message about the majority in Congress being solid, that we are not confused or shocked with the made-up stories,” Puno noted.
These are the National Unity Party, which Puno chairs; Lakas-CMD; Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC); Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP) of which Mr. Marcos is a member; and Nacionalista Party.
No legal weight
NPC stressed that Co’s allegations in the three-part video were “unsworn, unnotarized, unauthenticated and produced abroad, and therefore carries no legal weight or value as formal testimony.”
It said that Co has used an “emotional and theatrical tone” to shift public sentiment and paint himself “as a victim rather than the official who oversaw House-side adjustments during the 2025 budget process.”
“Such framing risks distracting the public from the serious questions surrounding anomalous insertions and alleged ghost projects that are currently under review by oversight bodies,” NPC noted.
“The Coalition urges caution in consuming dramatic online content that lacks verification. Emotional messaging should not be used to overshadow legitimate audits, inquiries or the work of institutions tasked with determining the facts. Public confidence is best protected when matters of national concern are addressed through evidence, sworn statements and proper legal processes,” it added.
“Mr. Co must come home … No video recorded abroad can substitute for sworn testimony, cross-examination, and accountability before the proper bodies,” PFP added in a separate statement.
Illogical claims
Religious group Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) on Monday also denied any involvement in Co’s videos, which were published two days before the start of its three-day anticorruption rally at Quirino Grandstand.
“We can categorically say that we have nothing to do with that,” INC spokesperson Edwil Zabala told the Inquirer in a Viber message.
Co’s statements have earlier been questioned even by critics of the current administration.
On Friday, professor Antonio Contreras and former Finance Undersecretary Cielo Magno noted that the President himself could have made insertions at the National Expenditures Program (NEP) crafted by the executive branch.
For Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, Co’s allegations contradict the normal budget process.
“It’s puzzling because, as we know, we call the [NEP] the President’s budget. So if the President wants to include something in the budget, he normally puts it at the beginning, not at the end,” Gatchalian said in Filipino in an interview on dzMM radio. “That’s the practice I’ve seen over many years.” —WITH REPORTS FROM DIANNE SAMPANG AND CHARIE ABARCA
