Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co has strongly denied fresh allegations linking him to alleged kickbacks and budget insertions in infrastructure projects, saying the claims raised during a Senate blue ribbon committee hearing are “false and baseless.”
In a statement released Tuesday, Co dismissed the accusations made against him, adding that he reserves his right to formally respond in the appropriate venue. “The allegations made against me during today’s Senate hearing are false and baseless. I reserve my right to respond to these allegations at the proper time before the proper forum,” Co’s office said in a statement.
The issue stems from testimonies delivered by former Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara and former assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez during the Senate’s ongoing probe into alleged anomalies in public works projects. Both former officials mentioned Co as among the lawmakers who allegedly benefited from insertions and kickbacks tied to flood control and other infrastructure projects.
Alcantara, who presented a detailed testimony, claimed that he met Co during a gathering at Shangri-La Bonifacio, where the lawmaker supposedly discussed funneling funds into his district. “We were able to talk there about the plan of the Cong. Zaldy to try to get funds into my district for various projects,” Alcantara told the Senate panel.
He added that about a month after their meeting, he submitted a list of flood control projects, which later appeared in the 2022 General Appropriations Act. “These projects came out in the GAA of 2022 — six projects in all. And as I remember, the first was P519 million. In a span of four years, from 2022 up to 2025, Cong. Zaldy became a proponent of projects in the Bulacan First District,” Alcantara said.
According to his account, the projects amounted to no less than P35 billion over the four years. Alcantara further alleged that he delivered kickbacks to Co in varying amounts, depending on the projects involved.
Despite the weight of these claims, Co has firmly rejected the accusations and emphasized his intention to address the matter in the proper forum rather than through the media or during Senate hearings.
The Senate blue ribbon committee continues its investigation into questionable infrastructure spending, with lawmakers and former public works officials under scrutiny. Co, for his part, maintains that he has no involvement in the alleged anomalies.