A former security consultant of Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co has accused the lawmaker and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of being linked to the delivery of suitcases filled with millions of pesos allegedly sourced from anomalous government projects.
At a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing, Orly Regala Guteza testified that during his stint as Co’s aide, he was ordered to handle and deliver luggage referred to as “basura”—bundles of cash amounting to around ₱48 million each.
Guteza said he was hired on December 5, 2024, and reported daily to Horizon Residences in Bonifacio Global City, where Co resided. On days assigned to “garbage duty,” he claimed they would transport suitcases of cash first to Co’s Valle Verde 6 home in Pasig, where the money would be counted by his executive assistants, John Paul Estrada and Mark Tecsay.
Afterward, Guteza said the cash-laden suitcases were usually brought back to Horizon Residences. But not all stayed there. “For example, we brought up 46 suitcases, but we would bring down only 35 suitcases to deliver to the houses of House Speaker Martin Romualdez at 42 McKinley Street, Taguig. The 11 suitcases were left upstairs on the 56th floor of Horizon Residences,” he told the panel.
He added that he personally delivered the so-called “garbage” multiple times to Co’s unit and to Romualdez’s residence in Taguig, noting that different personnel rotated in carrying out the assignments.
In his sworn affidavit, Guteza also implicated Benguet Rep. Eric Yap, saying the lawmaker once brought 46 suitcases of cash to Co’s residence in Pasig.
