MANILA: Former Ako Bicol Rep Zaldy Co (pic) claimed that he was not involved in the splitting of alleged kickbacks from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects, saying the funds only passed through him and were immediately delivered to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as instructed.
Co made the clarification in another video statement he posted on Facebook on Monday (Nov 24) afternoon, following the issuance of arrest warrants against him and several others.
“I want to make it clear that I did not take part in the actual process of splitting the amounts. The money only passed through me and was immediately delivered to Speaker Romualdez. My only role was to confirm with the speaker once the money had been brought to his house,” the former lawmaker said, speaking Filipino.
“And from the first order in 2022 until the final delivery in 2025, more than P55 billion was delivered to former Speaker Romualdez. The P2 billion that the Speaker asked for each month was often not completed, which is why that was the final total,” he added in Filipino.
In a separate post, Co uploaded a list alongside photos of dozens of luggage allegedly delivered to the residences of Romualdez and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Last week, Co also posted a video on social media detailing alleged cash deliveries tied to the 2025 national budget.
In the video, Co claimed that he and his staff were instructed to deliver suitcases of money to the residences of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and to Malacanang.
He described these deliveries as linked to P100 billion in projects that he was allegedly told to insert during the 2024 bicameral conference on the national budget.
Co said that the amounts were determined as a fixed percentage and that he repeatedly sought Romualdez’s clearance on the amounts and the transfers. He also mentioned that Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin provided him with a list of the P100 billion in projects, which he understood to be tied to the cash deliveries.
The former lawmaker also revealed that there were “receipts, evidence, and names” associated with the transactions, and that multiple meetings were held to lay out the list of projects and corresponding amounts. - Philippine Daily inquirer/ANN
