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Zaldy Co: Marcos sought guaranteed funding for P100 billion in budget insertions
Former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co claimed that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. insisted his P100 billion insertions in the 2025 national budget be placed under programmed appropriations for guaranteed funding.
Co alleged that former Senate President Francis Escudero wanted a P200 billion allocation and succeeded in placing insertions under both programmed and unprogrammed allocations.
He posted a copy of a letter he sent to Marcos in February 2025 on social media to "set the record straight" amid accusations that the House of Representatives "messed up" the budget.
In his letter, Co stated he advised Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, Secretary Mina Pangandaman, and Undersecretary Jojo Cadiz in late November 2024 to inform the President that the P100 billion insertion requested by the Office of the President should be split into programmed and unprogrammed to avoid backlash on the education sector.
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Former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co accused presidential son and Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos of orchestrating P50.9 billion worth of project insertions into the national budget between 2023 and 2025.
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Lawmakers from the Makabayan bloc believe it is premature to clear President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of any involvement in the P100 billion budget insertion for 2025 without a thorough investigation.
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Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson confirmed that P100 billion was inserted into the 2025 General Appropriations Act, with P81 billion allocated to the Department of Public Works and Highways and P19 billion to other agencies.
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Former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co alleged that former Speaker Martin Romualdez directed him to collect P2 billion monthly, intended for President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and Romualdez.
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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has urged Zaldy Co, who is currently abroad, to return to the Philippines and face his charges, stating his claims lack credibility without proof.
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