House Deputy Speaker Antipolo City 1st district Rep. Ronaldo "Ronnie" Puno boldly called the embattled Zaldy Co "the most guilty" as far as the alleged anomalies on flood control amd other infrastructure projects are concerned.

Puno made this statement Monday, Nov.17 during a press conference with fellow political party leaders in the House of Representatives. Pun sits as National Unity Party (NUP) chairman.

Before this, Co--the resigned Ako Bicol Party-list congressman--spent the entire weekend releasing video exposés linking President Marcos and Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez to alleged budget insertions and massive kickbacks.

"For him to accuse anybody at this point in time, I think is very presumptuous. Kasi siya na ngayong pinaka-guilty dito eh (Because right now, he's the most guilty)," Puno said of Co.

"Siya yung nagtatago, hindi yung iba. Siya yung umiiwas ng mga tanong, hindi yung iba (He's the one in hiding, not the others. He's the one avoiding questions, not the others)," underscored Puno.

It can be recalled that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure has repeatedly summoned Co to attend its hearings on the flood control projects controversy. However, the Bicolano has refused to come back home.

Puno said that based on Co's revelations, the latter is just name-dropping people who have been previously mentioned in the ongoing investigations.

"Siya ngayon yung magpatanong, magmi-mystery post siya na mga ganyan (Now he's the one asking questions and uploading mystery posts like that). Sa tingin ko (In my view), we have to take all of this with a grain of salt. He's not credible period," reckoned the lawyer-legislator.

Co claimed that President Marcos sought P100 billion worth of project insertions in the 2025 national budget, particularly during the Bicameral Conference Committee hearings. From this massive insertion, the Chief Executive allegedly received 25 percent or P25 billion in kickbacks.

Suffice it to say that Puno didn’t think much about these allegations.

"If you look at the overall statements of Mr. Co, parang nabunot na lang sa kung saan-saan babanggitin niya, yung mga taong nababanggit niya rin (it's like he pulled it out of nowhere, especially the people he is mentioning), especially those that he feels will lead to greater credibility for himself.

"Porke matagal nang nababanggit si [former] Speaker Romualdez...kasi parang iniisip niya siguro, mas maniniwala sa kanya yung tao kung sasakyan niya yung paniniwala nila (Just because former Speaker Romualdez has been mentioned previously...maybe he thought that the people will believe him more if he echoes their own beliefs)," the deputy speaker said.

At any rate, Puno said NUP and the other major political parties in the 300-plus strong House of Representatives are fully behind President Marcos.

"I think by and large, in fact everybody is in support of President Marcos here," he said.