Mamamayang Liberal Party-list Rep. Leila de Lima on Friday called on former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Elizaldy Co to return to the Philippines and formally participate in ongoing inquiries into alleged irregularities in infrastructure spending and the 2025 national budget.
De Lima issued the appeal after Co released a video accusing senior administration officials of relaying what he claimed were instructions from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to embed “P100 billion worth of insertions” into the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. She stressed that his claims must be placed on record before investigators. “He should take an oath and tell the whole truth before the proper forum,” she said, adding that Co’s testimony would only gain weight if given under oath.
In his video, Co alleged that Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin told him that Marcos supposedly ordered the inclusion of the P100-billion insertions. Co said he sought confirmation from Bersamin, then informed former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. He further recounted his belief that Marcos personally ordered the move, citing a story involving a brown leather bag the President once instructed to be retrieved during a trip abroad, which Co claimed matched Bersamin’s description.
Co said he appealed to officials to put half of the amount under unprogrammed funds to prevent the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget from surpassing that of the Department of Education (DepEd). He also questioned why Marcos has since claimed he cannot recognize the 2025 budget despite these earlier confirmations.
The Makabayan bloc—ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio, Gabriela Rep. Sarah Elago, and Kabataan Rep. Renee Co—meanwhile said the allegations directly implicate the President. “This testimony demolishes any pretense that Marcos Jr. is innocent or unaware of the corruption plaguing his administration,” the group declared, insisting that the President “personally approves the release of unprogrammed funds and directly orders billions in budget insertions.”
Makabayan also said Co’s information affirms their long-standing concerns about the “deliberate” swelling of the DPWH budget beyond DepEd’s constitutionally mandated priority. They noted that Co has yet to release the second part of his testimony, which he claimed would discuss alleged money deliveries to the residences of Marcos and Romualdez.
The 2025 budget has faced controversy since its passage, with allegations from Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab and former president Rodrigo Duterte that the bicameral report ratified by the House contained blanks. Former Marikina Rep. Stella Quimbo, then head of the House appropriations panel, denied wrongdoing and said the missing figures represented pending calculations, adding that the Senate’s finance committee staff prepared the bicam report.
Co is also under scrutiny in the Senate blue ribbon committee’s probe into alleged infrastructure kickbacks. Contractor-couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya testified that several lawmakers, including Co, demanded commissions from projects awarded to their firms. Former Bulacan district engineering officials Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez similarly linked Co to the alleged scheme.
Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco separately accused Co of manipulating the 2025 budget to channel billions in allocations to party-lists associated with him—P2.23 billion for Ako Bicol, P2.06 billion for Barangay Health Workers, and P13 billion under Co’s own name. Tiangco has been pressing Co since August to disclose the small committee’s amendments to prove that the House leadership is committed to reforms.
