Analysts question Co’s claim linking Marcos to P100-B budget insertion
MANILA, Philippines — Former Rep. Elizaldy Co opened another can of worms after confessing to having a hand in a P100-billion insertion in the 2025 national budget. His claims, however, have cast doubt among analysts, who say the embattled lawmaker is being inconsistent.
Ronald Llamas, political analyst and former presidential political affairs adviser to the late Benigno Aquino III, described Co’s claim that President Bongbong Marcos ordered the insertion as quite "illogical" when the first budget proposal comes from the executive branch.
At the same time, he said budget revisions during the bicameral conference proceedings are made and approved by representatives from both the House and Senate. However, Co did not name any senator in his supposed "tell-all" video messages.
"If you want to include something, just insert it there. It seems kind of weird for the president to order an insertion into his own budget that he supposedly made himself," he said in Filipino over ANC's "Headstart" on Monday, November 17.
For him, it doesn't make sense for the president to complicate the insertion by involving other players.
'Culpable at the very least'
Some other analysts, however, have also pointed out that perhaps the president did not want to be the source of questionable projects, so he would not have added them to the National Expenditure Program (NEP) in the first place.
Llamas said that while the corruption scandal suggests Marcos could be technically liable for signing the controversial budget, the responsibility for the questionable insertions would primarily rest with members of Congress.
"Technically, the bicam, the small committee, is represented by the House and Senate. But in the real world, we know that the executive has an influence. We know that there's an influence. That's why the president's budget, at the very least, is culpability," he added.
While Co's accusations are concerning, Llamas said they cannot be taken at face value, especially amid the continued political deadlock between Marcos and Duterte. But for the government, he said the president "needs to face this head-on" at a proper forum.
"At this point, if they (government) will answer that, it will look like hearsay," Llamas added, saying that the three-part video confession can only have a political impact for now — not a legal one.
"It means that while he's not here and he's not in a court of law, or he issued an affidavit supporting his claims, that will remain hearsay within the legal framework," he said.
INC, Duterte backers divided?
Some people have also speculated that Co may have timed the release of his videos with the Iglesia Ni Cristo's three-day anti-corruption rally to gather support and further amplify calls for Marcos to resign.
However, Llamas pointed out how members of the Iglesia ni Cristo who joined the first protest on Sunday, November 16, said themselves that they were against groups attempting to exploit their rally to destabilize the government.
RELATED: Duterte backers blocked from Iglesia ni Cristo rally at Luneta
"This means that this is a clear break in what we thought was a united front against the government and the president," he said, referring to Duterte supporters who attempted to join the INC's protest carrying calls for Marcos to resign.
What Marcos should do
What the Marcos administration should do, he said, is make good on its promise to prosecute and jail those who misappropriated or plundered public funds, and ensure that stolen money is recovered.
"If that won't happen soon, then the president will surely be hit in the face," Llamas said, suggesting a possible impeachment case against him.
"So this will be a very compelling moment in our country. Either this [momentum] will be sustained and the system and leaders change in 2028, or it will only be one of those things that will remain unchanged," he added.
Malacañang has since rejected Co's allegations that the president and the Department of Budget and Management played a role in any budget insertion during the 2024 bicam. Romualdez, meanwhile, refuses to comment on Co's statements since they were not made under oath or in any court of law.
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