Metro Manila, Philippines – Palace press officer Claire Castro urged resigned lawmaker Zaldy Co to complete his stories and pointed out “inconsistencies” in his public videos that implicated officials in the flood control mess.
“Mula video 1, 2, 3 hanggang 4 and 5, madaling nagbabago ang kanyang hairstyle. Kaya tuwing nakikita natin at nasasabi natin ang inconsistencies maaaring magbago rin siya ng kwento,” Castro said in a briefing.
[Translation: From videos 1, 2, 3 to 4 and 5, his hairstyle changes. So every time we see and point out the inconsistencies, he could change his story.]
Castro said the video was not recorded on the same day, and that the ex-solon tailored his claims based on the reaction of the people.
She said in Co’s earlier videos, discussions on alleged insertions in the national budget began in 2022 but later altered his timeline to 2024.
“Ginagamot nila ang mga sumusunod na videos,” she said. “Iba-ibang araw ‘to ginawa at malamang bumabase sila sa reaksyon ng tao.”
[Translation: They are changing the new videos…It was done on different days and they are probably based on people’s reactions.]
Co has released the final part of his video hours after the Palace briefing where he implicates the family of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos in an alleged corruption scheme in the rice import and export systems.
In his other videos, Co said House Majority Leader and presidential son Sandro Marcos inserted over ₱50 billion in projects in the 2023 to 2025 budgets.
The former House appropriations committee chairman said Rep. Marcos got mad at him during the 2025 budget process as the insertions were short of ₱8 billion.
He has also implicated other officials including President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and resigned Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman when the president supposedly ordered a ₱100-billion insertion in the bicameral version of the current budget.
This was flagged by some lawmakers, questioning why Marcos would order an insertion in the bicameral version in which he had no authority.
