The Office of the Ombudsman on Saturday said that resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co chose to bypass proper channels when he posted a video on social media alleging that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the insertion of P100 billion in the 2025 national budget, among other claims.
“Mr. Zaldy Co has chosen to bypass these channels, releasing information through social media and public videos instead of submitting himself to the formal processes designed to uncover the truth. We say this without prejudice, without hostility — but with deep frustration,” the Ombudsman said in a public statement.
Co was the former House Appropriations Committee chairman before resigning as a party-list representative in September.
The Ombudsman explained that it must first evaluate “every witness, cross-check every claim, and test credibility with rigor, not emotion” to protect the public from falsehood. It further noted that while the videos carry weight, they cannot stand alone in a court of law.
As such, the Ombudsman is urging Co to return to the Philippines and submit his evidence in order for the investigation to move forward.
“Mr. Co, we respectfully urge you: submit your statements under oath, through the proper process, so they may be examined with the seriousness they deserve,” the statement read.
“If the intention is to help uncover the truth, then let us pursue it in the manner that leads to real and enforceable accountability — not through spectacle, but through the rules that govern us all,” it added.
