For months, his name has been whispered in the corridors of power, a central ghost in a massive corruption scandal surrounding Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects. Former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, implicated and cornered, had vanished from the public eye. His silence was deafening, leaving a vacuum filled with speculation and political maneuvering.

Now, that silence has been shattered.

In a stunning, explosive testimony that threatens to destabilize the entire political landscape, Zaldy Co has reappeared, looking visibly thinner and under immense pressure. He has broken his silence not with a quiet defense, but with a political counter-offensive so direct, it targets the very heart of the Philippine government.

His message is simple: he was a “panakip butas”—a scapegoat. And the real masterminds, he alleges, are the two most powerful men in the nation: President Bongbong Marcos Jr. (PBBM) and Speaker Martin Romualdez.

This is not just an accusation; it is a detailed confession, a minute-by-minute account of how a P100 billion project insertion was allegedly orchestrated from the highest levels of Malacañang. Co, painting himself as a man fearing for his life, has decided that his only way out is to take everyone down with him.

“Sana po ay hindi nila ako mapatay,” Co stated, his words hanging heavy in the air. “I hope they don’t kill me… before I can reveal everything.”

He claims his silence was not voluntary. He alleges he received a direct order from Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez to stay abroad and “remain quiet,” a message he says was delivered “as instructed by the president.”

But the cornered man is fighting back. “I will no longer be silent,” he declared, promising to release “all the truth,” complete with “receipts, evidence, and names.” What follows is the anatomy of his bombshell testimony—a story of secret meetings, an unyielding president, and a single, unforgettable “brown leather bag” that he claims started it all.

The P100 Billion Phone Call
According to Zaldy Co, the “original sin” of this scandal began not with a shady backroom deal, but with a phone call during the 2024 Budget Call for Agency Mandates (BCAM) process. The call, he claims, came from Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Mina Pangandaman.

The message she allegedly delivered was as shocking as it was direct. Co recounts Pangandaman informing him that after a meeting with President Marcos, there were new instructions: “insert or include 100 billion worth of projects in BCAM.”

One hundred billion pesos. The sheer scale of the amount is difficult to comprehend. It is a sum that could fund entire government departments, build thousands of schools, or provide healthcare to millions. And according to Co, it was to be “inserted” into the budget.

Co’s testimony gains a layer of granular detail as he explains the chain of command. He claims Secretary Pangandaman, perhaps sensing the gravity of the order, advised him to get a second confirmation. She allegedly told him to call Undersecretary Adrian Bersamin, who, crucially, was also present at the meeting with PBBM.

“I immediately called Usec. Bersamin,” Co stated, “who confirmed the President’s instruction to insert the P100 billion.”

Armed with this two-pronged confirmation from the executive branch, Co, a legislator, did what he was supposed to do: he reported the instruction to his superior, the leader of the House of Representatives, then-Speaker Martin Romualdez.

If Co was expecting pushback, debate, or even simple clarification on how to achieve such a monumental task, he was allegedly met with none. Instead, he claims he received a simple, chilling six-word reply from Romualdez that summarized the entire power dynamic at play:

“What the president wants he gets.”

That statement, if true, paints a damning picture of a legislative branch not acting as a co-equal check and balance, but as a simple rubber stamp for presidential whims. The “power of the purse,” the constitutional authority granted to Congress, was allegedly rendered meaningless. The order was given. The Speaker had complied. All that was left was the execution.

The Meeting at Malacañang and the “Brown Leather Bag”
The conspiracy, Co alleges, quickly moved from phone calls to a face-to-face meeting. This wasn’t a secret rendezvous in a private, smoke-filled room. Co claims the meeting was arranged by Secretary Pangandaman and Usec. Bersamin at the Aguado Building, directly in front of Gate 4 of Malacañang. The alleged plot was unfolding on the very doorstep of the seat of power.

The list of attendees, according to Co, was a “who’s who” of the alleged scheme: Co himself, Speaker Martin Romualdez, Sec. Mina Pangandaman, Usec. Adrian Bersamin, and another undersecretary, Jojo Cadiz. The presence of the Speaker in such a meeting, to allegedly discuss the logistics of a P100 billion insertion, is a explosive allegation in itself.

It was at this meeting, Co claims, that the plot took on a physical form. Usec. Adrian Bersamin allegedly handed over the list of projects, the itemized breakdown of the P100 billion.

Co, demonstrating a mix of curiosity and self-preservation, asked the obvious question: Where did this list come from?

Usec. Bersamin’s alleged answer is the detail that transforms this political scandal into a cinematic, almost novelistic, narrative. He stated, according to Co, that the list came directly from PBBM, and that it was given to him from a “brown leather bag.”

For any other person, this detail might have been insignificant. But for Zaldy Co, it was a lightning bolt.

He immediately recalled a vivid, specific memory. The time was May 2022, just after the triumphant presidential election. The place was the Hilton Hotel in Singapore. Co was with the president-elect and Martin Romualdez. As they were preparing to return to the Philippines, PBBM had a moment of near-panic, motioning to his PSG to retrieve a forgotten item.

The President’s alleged words, as recalled by Co, were: “Maiwan na lahat, hwag lang ang brown leather bag.” (Leave everything else, but not the brown leather bag).

In that single instant at the Aguado Building, Co alleges, everything clicked into place. This wasn’t just a brown leather bag. It was the brown leather bag. It was the President’s personal, indispensable, and most-prized possession—a bag he valued above all else. The P100 billion project list wasn’t a bureaucratic memo from a faceless office; it was a personal directive, pulled from the President’s own bag.

This, Co claims, “solidified his belief.” He was no longer just following an order from a cabinet secretary. He was executing a personal directive from President Marcos himself, delivered via the one object the President would not let out of his sight.

“It Cannot Be Changed”
The execution of the plan, however, hit a logistical snag. As the team—Romualdez, Pangandaman, Bersamin, and Cadiz—began to work, they realized a massive problem. The P100 billion insertion was too large. It was procedurally impossible to simply stuff that much money into the DPWH program funds without it exceeding the budget for education—a political red line that would trigger alarms for the opposition and the public.

The group, acting as technocrats, found a “solution.” They could, they reasoned, insert P50 billion into the DPWH’s program funds as planned. The remaining P50 billion could then be parked in the “unprogrammed funds” for the 2025 budget.

This “solution” is, in itself, a damning detail. Unprogrammed funds are a notorious gray area in the national budget. They are essentially a contingency fund, the release of which is not automatic and is often contingent upon excess revenue. Critically, the release of these funds is controlled almost exclusively by the Office of the President.

This workaround, therefore, would have not only fulfilled the P100 billion quota but would have also given President Marcos direct, personal control over the release of the second P50 billion.

But even this clever, politically-expedient solution was allegedly not good enough.

The very next day, Co claims, Secretary Pangandaman relayed a final, unbending message from the President. The message, as Co recounts it, was one of absolute, non-negotiable command.

“Ipasok ninyo yan,” the President allegedly ordered, “dahil pinangako na sa akin ni Speaker Martin yan at hindi na pwedeng baguhin.”

(Insert it, because Speaker Martin already promised it to me, and it cannot be changed.)

This single alleged quote, if true, contains the entire conspiracy.

“Insert it”: A direct, personal command.

“Speaker Martin already promised it to me”: It directly links the two alleged masterminds, PBBM and Romualdez, implying a prior, private agreement had been struck. The P100 billion was not a request; it was a done deal.

“It cannot be changed”: This is the sound of absolute power. It dismisses the procedural and political concerns of his budget secretary and the Speaker. The “fix” was rejected. The original command stood.

Co says he, once again, reported this final, unbending order to Speaker Romualdez. The Speaker’s response was one of total capitulation.

“Wala tayong magagawa,” Romualdez allegedly replied. (We can’t do anything).

This is the lynchpin of Co’s testimony. He concludes by directly challenging the President’s public claims of ignorance regarding the budget. How, Co asks, can the President be unaware? Every single change, every addition to the budget for any government agency, requires his final approval, which is coursed through Secretary Pangandaman. By the very definition of the process, the President is the final checkpoint.

The Scapegoat Fights Back
Zaldy Co’s testimony has landed like a meteor. He is, as the video’s narrator emphasizes, “dropping” Romualdez and PBBM because he is “cornered.” He is a man with his back against the wall, deploying a “mutually assured destruction” defense.

His story directly contradicts the narrative that had been forming. Previous investigations by bodies like the (ICI) had pointed to Speaker Romualdez as the singular mastermind. Co’s testimony reframes this entirely. He is painting Romualdez not as the mastermind, but as the chief enforcer for the real boss.

This new narrative aligns with the skepticism previously voiced by other political veterans, like former Governor Luis “Chavit” Singson, who had publicly stated he found it “impossible” for the President to be unaware of such a massive, P100 billion budget insertion. Co’s testimony is, in effect, a 100-page affidavit supporting Singson’s claim.

This is clearly just the beginning. Zaldy Co has promised “receipts” and “evidence.” He has laid the groundwork with a story so detailed, so specific, and so cinematic that it is, at the very least, believable. The burden of proof now shifts.

The story of the P100 billion anomaly is no longer just about flood control projects in Bicol. It has become a story about a secret meeting in Malacañang. It has become a story about a President who would not be denied. And it has become, most unforgettably, the story of the “brown leather bag” and the secrets it may still hold. The whole world is now waiting to see what else Zaldy Co is willing to pull out of it.