Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson on Friday expressed doubts on the revelations of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, deeming it has no ‘probative value’, but the resigned lawmaker urged the senator to examine the documents first.
Co dropped a bombshell allegation that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. wanted P100 billion worth of insertions in the 2025 national budget, an accusation the Malacañang has denied.
But Lacson appears skeptical of Co’s claims.
‘I’m not defending the President,’ Lacson said in Filipino. ‘Why would he insert 100 billion in the Bicam? While in the National Expenditure Program, he can do that. Second, why did he veto it?’
Co urged Lacson to cross-check the National Expenditure Program for 2025 to verify if the same line items appear there.
Marcos Jr. has actually vetoed flood control projects in the 2025 national budget which is included in the P194-billion line items deemed inconsistent with the administration’s priority programs.
Lacson further said Co’s statements don’t hold much water without an oath.
‘As of now, it has no probative value because it was not done under oath,’ Lacson said in an ambush interview, partly in Filipino, after the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing.
‘I suggest that before making statements that may unfairly prejudice the issue, the Senator should examine the documents in full,’ Co said. ‘The public deserves a fair, complete, and evidence-based investigation, not conclusions drawn without first seeing the whole picture.’
Questions surrounding flood control projects began when Marcos, during his State of the Nation Address in July, said that 5,500 flood-control projects have already been completed under his term, with his critics casting doubt on such figures amid persistent flooding during that time.
After this, Marcos ordered the investigation of all of the almost 10,000 flood control projects completed in the past three years, and he himself revealed that P100 billion-or about 20 percent of the entire P545-billion budget for flood mitigation projects undertaken by his administration from July 2022 to May 2025-was awarded to only 15 contractors, which includes the companies linked to the Discaya couple.
Marcos’ move served as a floodgate for further revelations that several flood control projects are found to be either overpriced or non-existent due to the alleged collusion of lawmakers including Co, private contractors and DPWH engineers and officials to embezzle billions of pesos worth of funds.
To quell mounting public outrage that led to a nationwide September 21 protest and rumors of a military takeover, the government formed an independent commission that would investigate and recommend charges for those involved.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has since conducted a closed-door probe of this major corruption scandal, raising concerns on transparency which critics say could tarnish the credibility of its findings.
Facing mounting pressure from the public, the ICI then promised to livestream the proceedings, but it still refused to release the recordings of its previous hearings.
Influential sect Iglesia ni Cristo will also hold a three-day gathering from Nov. 16 to 18 to call for transparency in the ongoing flood control probe.
Another nationwide rally is slated on Nov. 30, which is the culmination of anticorruption protests held every Friday since Oct. 10