Sen. Ping Lacson Speaks on Budget Insertion Claim of Zaldy Co vs. Marcos Jr.
PING LACSON – The Senate President Pro Tempore confirmed the P100 billion budget insertion of Zaldy Co against Pres. Bongbong Marcos.
Amid the massive corruption allegations against him, Zaldy Co tagged Pres. Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the supposed corruption issue in the Philippines. He laid his claims through a series of videos posted on his social media account wherein Zaldy Co claimed that Marcos Jr. and Romualdez allegedly ordered a P100-billion insertion in the 2025 budget.
According to Zaldy, he allegedly even called then-Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and then-Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman to confirm the order and they supposedly confirmed it. Amid their names being dragged into the issue, Bersamin and Pangandaman resigned from their positions and Marcos Jr. has accepted their resignation.
Zaldy Co also claimed that he was allegedly warned by former Speaker Martin Romualdez that he will shoot him if he will speak. According to the resigned Ako Bicol Partylist Representative, he and Romualdez have also allegedly talked over the phone and he was supposedly threatened not to return to the country or they might hire someone to kill him.
Pres. Bongbong Marcos remained silent amid the corruption accusations of Zaldy Co against him. Malacañang previously stressed that all allegations against the President were not made under oath. Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro challenged the former House member to return to the country and make his testimony under oath.
Senate President Pro Tempore Ping Lacson also had a similar claim with Castro that the said accusations against Marcos Jr. by Zaldy Co was not made under oath. However, recently, the Senator confirmed the P100-billion budget insertion claim of the former House member.
Based on a report on ABS-CBN News, Sen. Ping Lacson claimed that there’s really a P100 billion budget insertion in the bicameral conference committee. However, while Lacson confirmed the said budget insertion, he cleared Pres. Bongbong Marcos from the allegation. According to him, the President’s name was allegedly used in the said anomaly.
“Totoo yung listahan ng P100 billion. Talaga nasingit sa bicam. But yung sinasabi ni Zaldy Co on social media as posted, na nag-deliver siya ng P25 billion representing the 25 percent commission di umano para kay Presidente, that I will attest na hindi totoo. Yun talaga absolutely untrue or false,” the Senator said.
Based on the report, Sen. Ping Lacson also claimed that he allegedly knew from former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo that there are allegedly some people in Malacañang who misrepresented Marcos Jr. without his knowledge. He name-dropped Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin.
“Napag-alaman ko from Undersecretary Bernardo na may mga tao sa Malacanang — not the President, not authorized by the President — who misrepresented him. I will name some of them, Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, he name-dropped the President, making Zaldy Co believe na utos ng Pangulo na ipasok sa bicam yung insertions na P100 billion — now, Usec Trygve Olaivar, other personalities,” Lacson claimed.
According to Sen. Ping Lacson, out of the said P100 billion fund inserted in the 2025 national budget, 80% of it allegedly went to the DPWH while the other funds went to other government agencies. He also claimed that it was allegedly Bernardo and not Co who made the delivery of the supposed kickbacks.
Recently, Sen. Ping Lacson also reacted to the illegal drug use accusation of Sen. Imee Marcos against Pres. Bongbong Marcos.