Palace asked: Did execs quit due to Co’s allegations?
President Marcos should explain the reason for the recent resignation of three high-ranking Cabinet officials, in light of his administration’s insistence that the allegations of corruption made by former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co against the executive branch carried no weight.
At an online press briefing on Friday, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio noted that former Justice Undersecretary Jose Cadiz and former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman were previously not mentioned in the scandal involving anomalies in flood control projects, until Co implicated them in a series of video statements last month.
Cadiz, whom Co tagged as the President’s alleged “bagman,” was confirmed by Malacañang on Friday as having resigned from his post. According to Co, he received orders from former Speaker Martin Romualdez to deliver kickbacks from the flood control projects to Cadiz.
Pangandaman, meanwhile, was name-dropped by Co as the Cabinet official who allegedly directed him to place P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 budget, supposedly on orders of the President.
No value?
Given this background, “We are asking and daring Malacañang to give a complete and honest explanation as to why they accepted the resignation of Usec. Jojo Cadiz … There should be an explanation why he was removed,” Tinio said.
“At one point, Malacañang said that Zaldy Co’s testimony has no value whatsoever. But now, not only one but three officials of President Marcos Jr.’s Cabinet have been removed: ES (Executive Secretary Lucas) Bersamin, Usec. Jojo Cadiz, and Secretary Pangandaman of DBM,” Tinio added.
He pointed out that neither Cadiz nor Pangandaman were mentioned in former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo’s affidavits detailing the kickback scheme in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). So if both Cabinet members left office solely because of Co’s statements, then Co’s allegations should be investigated more thoroughly.
“There is no basis for their so-called resignation or removal other than Zaldy Co’s allegations. This is like an admission that Zaldy Co’s statements carry weight,” Tinio said.
“We condemn Malacañang’s outright refusal, whether [by] the President himself or his spokesperson, to explain to the public the real reason why these officials resigned,” he added.
During a press briefing on Friday, Palace press officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said information coming from the Department of Justice indicated that Cadiz had resigned from his post.
“As far as we know, he has already submitted his resignation,” Castro said in Filipino.
‘Delicadeza’
Cadiz is also allegedly involved in a major construction company that was incorporated only in 2023. The construction company, named JSJ Builders Inc., was named after Cadiz’s then 19-year-old son, and was awarded more than P200 million in projects in Ilocos Norte.
On Nov. 25, Acting Justice Secretary Frederrick Vida said Cadiz had gone on leave and was scheduled to return to office on Dec. 1. While Vida did not elaborate on Cadiz’s whereabouts, he said the latter did not apply for a travel authority.
Castro announced on Nov. 17 that President Marcos had accepted Bersamin and Pangandaman’s resignations, made supposedly out of ‘delicadeza’ amid the investigation into corruption in flood control projects.
At Friday’s briefing, Castro said the public should be glad that personalities close to Marcos who got dragged into the scandal have left their posts.
Insertion mess
“Shouldn’t the people be happy if there are people who are allies of the President and when they get involved, even if there is no decision or judgment yet, they leave? Isn’t that a better way to look at it? It means the President does not tolerate people who might be involved,” she said.
In the first of the video statements he released, Co said the budget insertion mess started after Pangandaman called to inform him that Mr. Marcos wanted P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Pangandaman then allegedly asked him to confirm the President’s orders with Presidential Legislative Liason Office Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin—the former executive secretary’s grandnephew. After confirmation, Co said he told Romualdez about this instruction.
In the same video, Co said he appealed to Pangandaman and Bersamin to just put half of the P100 billion into unprogrammed funds so that the DPWH funds would not exceed the allocation for the Department of Education.
Under the Constitution, the education sector should have the highest budget prioritization. Co said the appeal was made before Pangandaman, Bersamin, Romualdez, and Cadiz.
