Pres. Bongbong Marcos Claims Zaldy Co’s Lawyer Allegedly Reached Out to Him
Zaldy Co’s lawyer Ruy Rondain denied the claim of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that they allegedly tried to “blackmail” him.
Amid the calls for him to return to the Philippines and face the allegations that linked him to the massive corruption issues in the country, Zaldy Co resigned from being the representative of Ako Bicol Partylist. In his previous statement, he claimed that he is concerned over his safety after he was allegedly placed by the House and Senate hearings in the face of public condemnation.
However, recently, through videos posted on social media, Zaldy Co tagged Pres. Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the budget insertion mess. According to him, they allegedly masterminded a P100-billion budget insertion in the 2025 national fund.
Co also claimed that Marcos Jr. and Romualdez allegedly received a P56-billion kickback all for themselves. According to him, he was supposedly told by Romualdez not to return to the country as per the alleged instruction from the President.
Recently, the resigned Ako Bicol Partylist Representative also implicated presidential son and Ilocos Norte Congressman Sandro Marcos in the budget insertion mess. According to Zaldy Co, Cong. Sandro Marcos’ budget insertions is past P50 billion in just three (3) years. He also cited the alleged upward trend of the younger Marcos’ budget insertions.
Recently, Marcos Jr. claimed that Zaldy Co’s lawyer allegedly reached out to him and attempted to blackmail him. According to the President, the camp of the former House member allegedly bribed him that he will stop releasing videos in exchange of his passport not being cancelled.
”Lastly, meron po akong ibabanggit sa inyo. Nilapitan po kami ng abogado ni Zaldy Co at nagtatangkang mag-blackmail na kung hindi po namin kakanselahin daw ang passport niya, hindi na raw siya maglalabas ng video,” the President claimed.
Furthermore, Marcos Jr. also claimed that he is not negotiating with criminals. He also left a strong message for Zaldy Co telling him that his passport will still be cancelled.
”I do not negotiate with criminals. Kahit maglabas ka na ng video ng lahat ng kasinungalingan mo na pag-destabilize sa gobyerno. Gusto kong malaman mo Zaldy makakansela pa rin ang passport mo. Hindi ka na makakatakas sa hustisya,” he said.
Zaldy Co’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain, immediately denied the claims of Pres. Bongbong Marcos. Based on a report of Inquirer, he tagged the President’s accusation as “completely untrue”.
Rondain stressed that he has allegedly not spoken with anyone from the government over the videos released by his client. Based on the report, Zaldy Co’s lawyer claimed that he has no control over the said videos.
“I have not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate the stoppage of the videos for the passport. As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videos,” the lawyer said.
Along with his claims against Zaldy Co’s lawyer, Pres. Bongbong Marcos also claimed that the assets of Zaldy including his air assets have been frozen.