On November 14, 2025, businessman and former member of the House of RepresentativesZaldy Co released a first five-minute video statement on his official Facebook page, where he admitted to facilitating what he described as large budget insertions in the proposed 2025 national budget of the Philippines.[1] In the video, Co alleged that the instructions to accommodate the insertions, amounting to around ₱100 billion (US$1.693 billion), came from President Bongbong Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.[2][3] He said the insertions consisted largely of flood control projects, along with other infrastructure works.[4] In the days that followed, Co released two more video statements providing further details on his allegations.
After the video was released, some observers speculated that it could have been AI-generated, noting changes in Co's appearance and citing remarks from political figures who called for closer examination. Analysts, however, pointed out that his facial movements, lighting, and audio-video synchronization appeared consistent throughout, with no clear indicators of deepfake manipulation, suggesting that the recording was made in real time.[5]
Malacañang Palace press officer Claire Castro was falsely quoted as saying, "Let's first have the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) verify the video because it is likely AI. It's impossible that it would be Co", and she made no claim that Co's video was fabricated or AI-generated.[6]
Zaldy Co previously served as a representative of the AKO Bicol Partylist in the House of Representatives of the Philippines and was heavily involved in appropriations discussions during his time in office. In October 2024, Co claimed that the Bicol Region had "no billion‑peso" allocation for flood‑control projects in the 2023 national budget. However, a fact‑check by Vera Files found this assertion to be false.[7]
Co has also faced serious allegations around anomalous and possibly "ghost" flood‑control projects. For example, testimonies before congressional inquiry panels named him in connection with realignment of funds, inflated flood‑control project budgets, and non‑existent or substandard infrastructure. Aside from flood‑control works, Co was involved in other infrastructure programs, including roads, bridges, and public‑works projects, which formed part of broader national‑budget decisions and local development priorities.[8][9][10]
Videos
President Bongbong Marcos (left) and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez (right), who were named by Zaldy Co in his video statement regarding budget insertions and flood control projects.
In the five-minute video, Co explained that the budget insertion process began when he claimed that he received a call from Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandam called him during the bicameral conference committee deliberations and relayed that the President Marcos had instructed the inclusion of roughly ₱100 billion in projects, mostly for flood control infrastructure and other public works under Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).[2][11] He had left the Philippines on July 19, 2025, for a scheduled medical check-up and had planned to return after President Marcos's State of the Nation Address (SONA), citing health reasons and the pressures surrounding his role in the budget insertion process.[12][13] He stated that he immediately informed House Speaker Romualdez of the directive, who allegedly asked him to "stay out of the country" and assured him that he would be well taken care of, as instructed by Marcos, and added that he felt he was being made a "poster boy" to deflect attention from other officials.[3] Co said he believed the orders came from Marcos because Budget Secretary Lucas Bersamin informed him that the list of projects had been placed in a "brown leather bag". He recalled that it was the same bag Marcos had mentioned when he, Marcos, and Romualdez returned from a trip to Singapore.[14] Co also claimed that he had been pressured to stay silent, saying that government resources were being used to discredit him: "The administration is using the full resources of the country to keep me quiet … I will be used as the cover for their campaign against corruption."[4] He concluded the video by saying he possesses documents supporting the inserted projects and intends to release them publicly.
Another four-minute video statement released on November 15, showed Co also released photographs of suitcases that he claimed contained cash allegedly delivered to Romualdez and his cousin, Marcos. He denied receiving any money himself, stating that "all the insertions went to the President and to Romualdez."[15] According to Co, the suitcases were purportedly delivered to Romualdez's residences in North Forbes Park and South Forbes Park, as well as to Malacañang Palace for the President.[16]
On November 16, Co raised the allegation in the third part of his three-minute video statement, asserting that Romualdez had threatened him as early as March 2025 during an alleged meeting. In the same statement, he further claimed that the kickbacks he received from questionable infrastructure projects amounted to ₱56 billion (US$ 948 million), in contrast to the ₱21 billion (US$356 million) previously reported by engineers from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).[17]
Reactions
Co's video statement immediately drew widespread attention and reactions from politicians, lawmakers, and oversight bodies. Senator Leila de Lima urged Co to return to the Philippines and testify under oath, emphasizing the need for transparency and accountability regarding his claims.[18] Members of the House Minority Bloc described his testimony as a "damning expose", saying it implicated President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a ₱100‑billion budget insertion scandal and called for a formal investigation to determine the validity of the allegations. Senator Win Gatchalian urged the public to exercise caution in evaluating Co's allegations. During a break in the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the flood-control anomaly, he said, "I don't even know kung siya ba yun o may nagsasabiartificial intelligence. So we need to really validate", highlighting the need for verification before drawing conclusions.[4]Alliance of Concerned Teachers Partylist Representative Antonio Tinio emphasized that President Marcos should also be held accountable in the ongoing flood-control corruption scandal.[19] Meanwhile, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) opted to defer comment, stating that it would wait for further verification before making any public statements on Co's accusations against senior officials.[20]
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