A lawmaker has called on former Rep. Zaldy Co to return to the Philippines and formally place his allegations under oath, urging him to reveal everything he knows about the anomalous flood control projects and controversial budget insertions.
“I echo iyong sinasabi ng simbahan at ng maraming grupo na he should come home,” Senator Bam Aquino said, referring to Co, who recently posted a three-part revelation naming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as recipients of kickbacks from the P100-billion insertions in the 2025 budget.
“Come home, face the DOJ (Department of Justice), face the ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure), face the Blue Ribbon, be under oath, and tell all, basically,” he added.
The senator reiterated that all those involved in the anomalous flood control projects must be held accountable, the government must recover the stolen money, and systemic reforms must be introduced to avoid a repeat of such anomalies in the future.
“Sino ba talaga yung sangkot? Dapat ikulong sila. And hopefully, sooner than later, iyong pera, hindi pwedeng wala lang. That’s over a trillion, or about a trillion pesos, over the last couple of years na nawala. Kailangan may serious attempt to get back that money,” he stressed.
“And of course, baguhin ang sistema. Huwag tayong pumayag na after one year, ganto na naman tayo, na masisingitan na naman tayo ng kung sino-sino,” he added.
Aquino also pushed for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 1506, the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act, to ensure transparency in the use of public funds.
“We really have to change the system. Pass the CADENA Act, have a better budget, and get people more interested in where their money goes,” he pointed out.
Under Senate Bill No. 1506, also known as the Blockchain the Budget Act, all government agencies will be mandated to upload and maintain budget-related documents—including contracts, project costs, bills of materials, and procurement details—in a Digital Budget Platform, making the process transparent and accessible to the public.
If passed into law, Aquino said government officials who fail to publicly disclose budget-related documents or deliberately upload false information will face administrative and criminal penalties under the CADENA Act.
“Lalagyan po natin ng pangil ang CADENA Act. Kung may mga dokumento na hindi po na-publish ng ahensya sa kanilang website o sa CADENA platform sa loob ng pitong araw, mayroon pong administrative penalty. At kung pagkatapos ng tatlumpung araw hindi pa rin naisasapubliko ang kontrata, bill of materials, o kahit ano mang minandatong dokumento ng batas, magiging criminal offense po ito,” Aquino said in his sponsorship speech for Senate Bill No. 1506.
“Makukulong ang isang indibidwal na nag-upload ng false or misleading budget-related information. At ang probisyon na ito, na penalty, ay para panigurado na hindi po garbage in, garbage out ang mangyayari sa CADENA. Ibig sabihin po, wala pong takas dito,” he added.
