Metro Manila, Philippines – Fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co has dragged House Majority Leader and presidential son Sandro Marcos into his narrative on budget insertions that ended up in kickbacks – after accusing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of doing the same thing.

In a video statement released on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Co said Ilocos Norte Rep. Marcos inserted over P50 billion in infrastructure projects in the budget from 2023.

Co, a former AKO BICOL party-list representative, released the list of projects supposedly inserted by the younger Marcos on Facebook: P9 billion in 2022, P22 billion in 2024, and P23 billion in 2025.

He said he learned from government contractors that Rep. Marcos, the eldest of the president’s sons, was mad at the former lawmaker as insertions were short of P8 billion in the current budget.

“Ang sabi daw niya ipapatanggal ako at magfa-file ng maraming kaso laban sa akin kasi kulang ng P8 billion ang insertion na gusto niyang ipasok,” he said in the video.

“Ang dahilan daw, may mga contractor na nakapag-advance sa kanya at dahil hindi naipasok ang buong halaga, kailangan daw niyang magsauli sa mga ‘yon,” he claimed.

[Translation: He said that I will be removed and will face many cases because his insertions were short of P8 billion. He got mad because he will have to return the money of contractors who have made advance payments.]

The neophyte lawmaker has yet to issue a comment.

Co has said the president ordered him to insert P100 billion in projects in the current budget.

He said he delivered suitcases with cash, supposedly project kickbacks, to Marcos and his cousin, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, since 2022 that totaled P56 billion.

Malacañang and Romualdez denied the accusations.

Co was the appropriations committee chairman of the House of Representatives in the 19th Congress. He was replaced in January 2025, and eventually quit as a House member in September at the height of the flood control corruption scandal probe. He remains out of the country.