IF WE’RE to believe everything that Zaldy Co has said in several online posts from wherever he is right now—that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and resigned House Speaker Martin Romualdez conspired to surreptitiously insert P100 billion into the 2025 national budget so they can stuff all that into their own pockets and laugh all the way to the bank—and in effect saying he had nothing to do with any wrongdoing whatsoever, then we’re all being taken for a ride.
The truth is, the resigned Ako Bicol Party-List congressman and former chair of the House Committee on Appropriations is trying to turn the world upside down and wants to absolve himself of any responsibility for alleged massive thievery from the national treasury.
Co is practically saying he is pure as the driven snow and his claim that he is not involved in any monkey business does not fly.
The fact that he has flown to parts unknown and does not want to come home to face plunder charges against him that could put him behind bars for many, many years offers ample proof that he is guilty as sin.
The President has done the right thing and simply brushed off Co’s accusation: “I don’t want to even dignify what he was saying.”
For his part, Leyte Rep. Romualdez has chosen to face the allegation head-on with a statement “my conscience remains clear” and emphasized “no public official, contractor, or witness has pointed to any wrongdoing on my part.”
He also dismissed Co’s claims as not made under oath and therefore do not hold water in a court of law.
While Romualdez’s public denial may be viewed as a political statement, the important thing is to offer an airtight legal defense.
He should be able to show that the House had the authority to insert specific items, that there has been no misallocation of funds, and that inserted items were legitimate projects aligned with national government goals.
Investigators must show documentary and testimonial proof that everything has been aboveboard. The decisive factor will be documentary and forensic evidence produced in formal probes.
The latest development on this issue is the “full, unwavering confidence” of the members of the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), the most dominant party in the House of Representatives, behind Romualdez.
“Attempts to drag his name into the controversy have relied heavily on shifting narratives and claims aired in venues where they are not tested, examined, or supported by documentation,” said the 109-strong party.
His “willingness to cooperate in any lawful process,” they added, was “consistent with the attitude of a public servant who has nothing to hide and nothing to fear.”
What Zaldy Co should do now is to return to the country and substantiate his claims against President Marcos Jr. and Rep. Romualdez with notarized affidavits that can stand in court, instead of claiming that he has received death threats without showing any proof.
