Zaldy Co Might Be the ‘Fall Guy,’ Kiko Barzaga Warns
KIKO BARZAGA – The Cavite 4th District Representative expressed concern that Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co might end up being used as a “fall guy” in the ongoing flood control project anomaly scandal.
In an interview on Politiko Nightly on the Bilyonaryo News Channel, Barzaga said that if he were to become the next House Speaker, his first move would be to launch a thorough investigation into former House Speaker Martin Romualdez. However, he stressed that the probe should not only focus on Romualdez but also include his Deputy Speakers, who may also be involved in the controversy.
Barzaga warned that Zaldy Co could be unfairly blamed while other key figures might escape accountability.
“Medyo mahirap ‘yun kasi nasa kanya [Romualdez] ‘yung Marcos administration, nasa kanya ‘yung Kongreso. Si Zaldy Co naman baka ‘yun ‘yung gagawin nilang fall guy para doon… sa kanya sisisihin ‘yung flood control projects but hopefully if we have the numbers, we can also investigate Martin Romualdez,” Barzaga explained.
Meanwhile, former Bulacan District Engineer Henry Alcantara accused Zaldy Co, who chairs the House Appropriations Committee, of facilitating billions of pesos worth of infrastructure projects for Bulacan from 2022 to 2025 in exchange for a percentage cut from each allocation.
Alcantara said he first met Co in September 2021 at Shangri-La, BGC, to discuss possible funding for Bulacan projects. A month later, he submitted a flood control proposal, which was later included in the 2022 budget with ₱519 million allocated for six projects.
From 2022 to 2025, Alcantara claimed Co pushed for 426 projects totaling ₱35 billion. The budget jumped to ₱12 billion in 2023, then rose to ₱14.19 billion in 2024, before decreasing to ₱7.385 billion in 2025.
He further alleged that Co initially asked for a 20% commission per project in 2022, which increased to 25% from 2023 to 2025. Payments were reportedly staggered and not always given in full upfront, depending on how projects were inserted into the budget.
Related Post: Sandro Marcos Urges Zaldy Co to Come Home and Face Allegations