DAVAO City Third District Representative Isidro Ungab questioned why people are only questioning the credibility of resigned Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co now, when he had been elected as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations for three years.
“Tatlong taon ninyung ginawang chairman ng Appropriation Committee si Zaldy Co, tatlong taon ninyung pinag katiwalaan magpasa ng national budget (For three years, you made Zaldy Co the chairman of the Appropriations Committee; for three years, you entrusted him with passing the national budget),” Ungab said in a Facebook post on November 15, 2025.
“Why are you questioning his credibility now? Bakit hindi niyo iyan naisip noon pa (Why are you questioning his credibility now? Why didn’t you think of that before)?” he continued.
This came after Co claimed that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. received ₱25 billion in kickbacks from the insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Earlier that day, Co, who is abroad, released a video alleging that the president benefitted from the ₱100-billion budget insertions.
“Ang ibig sabihin nito, 25 percent ng P100 billion ang SOP na kailangan ibigay kay BBM mismo. In total, P25 billion ang napunta kay Pangulong Bongbong Marcos (What this means is that 25 percent of the ₱100 billion is the SOP that must be given to BBM himself. In total, ₱25 billion went to President Bongbong Marcos),” he said.
Co also released photos showing luggage lined up between luxury vehicles, which he claimed would be delivered to the homes of Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at North Forbes Park, South Forbes Park, and even to Malacañang Palace.
Ungab refreshes the public on what happened to the 2025 budget
In another post, Ungab shared a photo of the 2025 expenditure program — a comparative summary from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to the General Appropriations Act (GAA) with veto.
To recall, on January 18, 2025, Ungab revealed that the Bicameral Conference Committee (Bicam) report for the 2025 budget contained “blank sections” in key parts, including the allocations for the Department of Agriculture and “unprogrammed appropriations.”
He also questioned the amendments made by the bicameral committee to automatic appropriations, specifically mechanisms called the “Special Accounts in the General Fund (SAGF)” and “Use of Income in the General Fund (UIGF).”
On January 3, 2025, Ungab flagged concerns over the “inconsistent computation” of the Education budget in the 2025 GAA. He pointed out that although the Department of Budget and Management originally listed Education as a top priority, the final bicameral-approved budget gave a larger portion to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) than to the Education sector.
On August 13, 2025, Ungab demanded full transparency over the deletion of the ₱74 billion budget for PhilHealth in the 2025 GAA. He argued that this was not just a budget technicality but a systemic problem. He said the funds were “legally earmarked” under the Sin Tax Law, and removing them undermined Health financing.
He also strongly criticized what he called the “distortion” of the 2024–2025 budgets, pointing out that many foreign-assisted projects (ODA or FAPs) were defunded or shifted into “unprogrammed” funds. He warned that this could damage the country’s development and its credibility with international lenders because some of the projects had loan commitments.
In line with issues such as the blanks in the Bicam report, budget changes, and deletions, Ungab has been pushing for the Supreme Court (SC) to review the 2025 GAA. His camp filed a petition asking the SC to declare the 2025 budget unconstitutional, citing the “fatal defects” in the bicameral report and how it was enacted.
Malacañang rejects Co’s claims
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro on November 16, 2025, dismissed Co’s claims accusing the president and his cousin, Romualdez, of being the masterminds behind the ₱100-billion insertion in the 2025 national budget.
“That’s the problem with Zaldy Co’s patched-together lies. He can’t present any evidence — he’s just reading from a script,” she said.
“The exposé his allies were expecting has turned into a comedy series instead,” she said.
Since Co’s first video exposé, Malacañang has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying they are “pure hearsay.”
Co has been tagged as the central figure in the anomalous flood-control projects in the Philippines. He allegedly received kickbacks from contractors and the DPWH.
Co left the country in July this year, and his location remains unknown. He has refused to return to the Philippines, citing threats to his life and his family. RGP