At least two college professors found a flaw in former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co’s claims that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself ordered insertions in the 2025 budget, noting that the Chief Executive had all the chances to do it himself if he wanted to.
Both political science Professor Antonio Contreras and economics Professor Cielo Magno shared their views over social media on Friday, noting that Marcos could have made the insertions himself at the National Expenditures Program (NEP) level, instead of asking Co to do it later on.
The NEP is the compilation of all government agencies’ budgets for a subsequent year, crafted by the executive branch and submitted by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the House of Representatives within 30 days after a president’s State of the Nation Address. The House then deliberates the NEP, and makes amendments – either by deduction or augmentation of funds for projects.
‘The President has full control of the NEP through the DBM. Why would he insert during the legislative phase, and needed Zaldy Co to do the dirty job, when he can very well include whatever he wanted to insert at the time the NEP is still being prepared for submission to Congress?’ Contreras said. ‘I think Zaldy Co owes us an explanation.’
Magno – a former undersecretary at the Department of Finance during Marcos’ first year, who has been critical of the President’s several policies – said that a Chief Executive can put the so-called ‘insertions’ while crafting the NEP.
According to Magno, Marcos does not have to wait for the bicameral conference committee to make the insertions.
Under the current budget process, the House submits its version of the proposed budget or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) to the Senate for its own deliberation. The Senate then makes its own amendments, eventually prompting the creation of the bicam – a small group of House and Senate members who meet around November or December to thresh out differences in their GAB versions.
‘My question to Zaldy Co is, why does he make it seem that BBM (Marcos) would do something dumb to wait for the bicameral conference to insert ng 100B (billion pesos) when he can make that at the NEP level already?’ she asked in Filipino.
Earlier, Senator Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson who chairs the Senate blue ribbon committee – which held a hearing earlier regarding the flood control issue – shared the same sentiments as Contreras and Magno.
According to Lacson, he is not defending Lacson, but one pressing question that must be asked of Co is why Marcos refrained from making the alleged insertions himself.
Also, Lacson asked why Marcos vetoed the insertions made at the bicameral conference committee if the President really wanted it.
‘I’m not defending the President, (but) why would he insert P100 million at the bicam when he can do that at the NEP already?’ Lacson asked.
‘Second, why did he veto the insertions? Why were the other items considered FLR (for later release)? I’m not saying it’s unbelievable, but at face value, we can say that based on common sense – only because I know the budget process, that it starts with the NEP that the President has complete control over what should be inserted – why would he wait for the bicam to make insertions?’ he added.
Co in a video statement earlier claimed that key administration officials – particularly Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin – told him that Marcos wants P100 million worth of insertions placed in the 2025 budget.
Co claimed that Pangandaman asked him in 2024 to confirm with Bersamin as to whether the President really ordered putting P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Bill. After getting the confirmation, Co said he told former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez about this instruction.
After getting these confirmations, Co said he appealed to Pangandaman and Bersamin to just put half of the P100 billion to unprogrammed funds so that funds for DPWH would not exceed the allocation for DepEd. Co also said he is surprised as to why Marcos is saying that he cannot recognize the 2025 budget.
These claims from Co came as the former lawmaker faces several issues regarding the 2025 national budget and the infrastructure project scandal.
At one of the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings, contractor-couple Curlee Discaya and Sarah Discaya named several lawmakers – including Co – who allegedly asked for and received kickbacks from infrastructure projects, after their firms were able to bag government contracts.
Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, former officials of the Bulacan first district engineering office, tagged Co and other lawmakers as allegedly involved in the kickbacks scheme for infrastructure projects.
Co is also accused by Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco of mangling the 2025 budget. Tiangco claimed that party-lists affiliated with Co received more than P4 billion worth of allocations – P2.23 billion for Ako Bicol, P2.06 billion for Barangay Health Workers which was represented by her niece, former Rep. Natasha Co, and P13 billion under Elizaldy Co himself.
As early as August, Tiangco has been asking Co to reveal all the amendments made by the small committee for the 2025 budget, to show that the House leadership is truly serious about its push for reforms.
Co went out of the country while he was still a lawmaker of the 20th Congress, for a medical procedure. He was asked by the House to return, as Romualdez’ successor, Speaker Faustino ‘Bojie’ Dy III, revoked his travel authority.
But instead of returning, Co resigned from his post, saying that he is being prejudged. Co also said he fears for his safety.