PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. dared on Monday, November 24, 2025, former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co to return to the Philippines and face the charges against him in relation to the anomalous flood control projects.
“Anyone can go online and make all kinds of claims and say all kinds of things paulit-ulit, but it means nothing. For it to mean something, umuwi siya rito, harapin niya ang mga kaso niya. Kung may gusto siyang sabihin, sabihin niya; malalaman naman ng tao yan, patunayan niya. But come home," Marcos said.
(Anyone can go online and repeat all kinds of claims, but it means nothing. For it to matter, he should come home and face his cases. If he has something to say, he should say it; people will know, he should prove it. But come home.)
"Bakit ka nagtatago sa malayo? Ako, hindi ako nagtatago. Kung meron kang akusasyon sa akin, andito ako, gawin niya ng pareho para patas,” he added.
(Why hide somewhere far? I do not hide. If you have accusations against me, I am here—he should do the same for fairness.)
Co, who is central to the government’s investigation into irregularities in the implementation of flood control projects, recently issued a series of video statements tagging Marcos and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the beneficiaries of multi-billion–peso kickbacks from anomalous infrastructure projects.
He also pointed at Marcos as the brains behind the P100 billion worth of project insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Based on documents provided by Co, P81,082,503,000 worth of projects on Marcos’ list was under the DPWH, while over P2.8 billion went to the Philippine Coconut Authority, P2 billion each to the National Electrification Administration and National Housing Authority, P5.405 billion under the Office of the President, and P6.5 billion for the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Malacañang had earlier vehemently denied Co’s accusations, while Romualdez insisted that his conscience is clear.
Co said he left the Philippines on July 19 for a medical check-up and was about to return after Marcos’ fourth State of the Nation Address, but he was prevented from going back home by Romualdez.
Last week, the Sandiganbayan issued arrest warrants against Co along with 15 Department of Public Works and Highways officials and Sunwest Corporation board members over irregularities in the implementation of a P289 million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)