The House Committee on Infrastructure is keeping the door open for Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co to be invited to its investigation into questionable flood control projects—if his name officially surfaces during the probe.
Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon, who chairs the committee, emphasized that Co would only be called if evidence or testimonies connect him to anomalous contracts. “If Congressman Co or whoever person, House member, is linked to an anomalous contract, transaction or project, they may be invited,” Ridon said in an Inquirer.net report. “That is consistent with what we have stated previously.”
The investigation is being carried out by a tri-committee composed of the House committees on public accounts, good government and accountability, and public works. Their mandate focuses on identifying irregular, substandard, or non-existent flood control projects executed under the Marcos administration.
However, Ridon made it clear that his panel is not the proper venue to tackle allegations of budget insertions linked to Co’s former role as appropriations chair. He advised that such concerns should be handled by the appropriations committee, saying, “They can bring it to the committee on appropriations since we’re talking about budget amendments and budget insertions.”
During the committee’s first hearing, tension erupted as lawmakers debated whether to summon Co and Senator Grace Poe—who led their respective chambers during the 2025 budget bicameral conference. Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab pushed hard for their appearance, arguing that the alleged billions in insertions must be explained.
Ungab went as far as to call the 2025 budget “the most corrupt in history,” while Tiangco accused party-list groups linked to Co of benefiting from over P4 billion in allocations from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). He alleged that P2.23 billion went to Ako Bicol, P2.06 billion to Barangay Health Workers (reportedly headed by Co’s niece), and another P13 billion was directly associated with Co.
As of this writing, Co has not issued a comment despite repeated media requests.
Co, who previously founded Sunwest Inc., a firm that has since grown into one of the country’s leading flood control contractors with 79 projects worth P10 billion, remains under scrutiny. But Ridon reiterated that while his name may emerge during discussions, any formal questioning about budget manipulation should be left to an independent commission or appropriate House panel.
Rep. Leila de Lima of Mamamayang Liberal echoed that the only way to move the investigation forward is to examine the budget allocations tied to specific projects—and what took place during the bicameral deliberations.
