Jonvic tags Zaldy in P500-M PNP budget ‘insertion’
A P500-million “insertion” in the intelligence fund of the Philippine National Police for 2025 was discovered and subsequently returned to the Office of the President, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
In a Senate hearing on Thursday, Remulla said the insertion was made by the same person who had “requested 3,000 containers of fish (imports).”
He only gave this one clue, but the Cabinet official was apparently referring to embattled former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, whose name cropped up last month in another congressional hearing concerning the Department of Agriculture (DA) and its issuance of fish importation permits.
Remulla made the disclosure during the hearing of the Senate finance committee on the proposed 2026 budget of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and its attached agencies, including the PNP and the jail management and firefighting bureaus.
“We returned it because it was an insertion in the budget and the insertion came from the person who requested 3,000 containers of fish,” Remulla said.
This was after Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, the committee chair, asked why the PNP received a P1.3-billion intelligence fund in 2025 and only 800 million in 2026.
‘We did not ask for it’
Remulla said the “additional P500 million” was an insertion that the DILG decided not to use in 2025 in adherence to the National Expenditure Program, or the budget prepared by the executive branch for congressional deliberation.
According to Remulla, the amount was returned to the Office of the President because “we did not ask for it” and found no use for it.
“There might have been a trade-off with” the insertion, “that’s why we refused the insertion of the P500 million,” he added.
In January this year, at a press briefing in Malacañang, Remulla said various IT-related projects of the PNP suffered significant budget cuts in the 2025 General Appropriations Act.
On the other hand, he said, nearly P1 billion was allocated for the PNP’s purchase of all-terrain amphibious vehicles for the Bicol region, while P500 million was added to the PNP’s intelligence fund.
Pressured to return
Co, who cited his need for medical treatment when he left for the United States in July, has since faced serious allegations linking him to anomalous public works projects and questionable budget insertions, especially when he was still chair of the House committee on appropriations.
The House leadership under Speaker Bodjie Dy has been pressuring Co to return to the country and face the accusations, first revoking his travel clearance and later seeking the cancellation of his passport.
Co, who informed Dy of his intention to return but did not give a date, resigned as congressman on Sept. 29.
In a House hearing on Sept. 15, Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said Co earlier tried to force him to issue a permit to import fish amounting to 3,000 containers for three companies—including one named ZC Victory Fishing Corp.
Co then issued a statement from abroad denying being the owner of the company, saying the “ZC” in the company name referred to “Zamboanga City,” not his initials.
