At A Glance
- Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon rejected allegations by former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co targeting President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. and described the claims as baseless and illogical.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince B. Dizon (MB File)
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon rejected allegations by former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co targeting President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and described the claims as baseless and illogical.
Dizon said Marcos personally exposed irregularities in flood control projects and immediately ordered an independent probe to ensure accountability.
He also questioned Co’s credibility, asking why he would reveal wrongdoing if he were truly involved.
“Kung involved ka, bakit ikaw mismo magpapasabog? Bakit mo gagawin lahat ng ito? Bakit mo ibubuo ang isang independent commission? (If you were involved, why would you expose it yourself? Why would you do all of this? Why would you create an independent commission?),” Dizon said.
Earlier, Co released a video alleging that Marcos, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and some Cabinet members orchestrated P100 billion worth of insertions in the national budget.
He claimed Romualdez told him, “What the President wants, he gets.”
Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Sen Panfilo Lacson earlier said that the video released by Co has no probative value since it was not made under oath.
He also pointed out that Marcos vetoed multi-billion worth of projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
And if indeed the President is involved, Lacson said he could have done it in the National Expenditure Program or NEP, not through budget insertions as what Co was claiming.
Malacañang rejected the allegations, calling them “pure hearsay” and lacking factual basis.
“Dahil lumiliit na ang mundo ni Zaldy Co, kailangan niyang umiwas at iiwas ang sarili at mag-name drop kahit walang katibayan at laway lang ang puhunan (As Zaldy Co’s world shrinks, he feels the need to avoid responsibility and deflect by name-dropping even without evidence, relying only on empty words),” Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
She added that Co fabricated stories to portray himself as a victim.