Senator Paolo “Bam” Aquino IV on Thursday, November 20 urged former congressman Zaldy Co to return to the Philippines and formally place his allegations against President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. under oath.

Aquino said the former lawmaker should reveal all that he knows about the anomalous flood control projects and controversial budget insertions, having been the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations back then.

“I echo the church’s and the various groups’ call that he should come home,” Aquino said, referring to Co.

“Come home, face the DOJ (Department of Justice), face the ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure), face the Blue Ribbon, be under oath, and tell all,” he added.

Co, who recently posted a three-part revelation naming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as recipients of kickbacks from the P100-billion insertions in the 2025 budget, has yet to return to the Philippines to testify formally on the issue of anomalous flood control projects and budget insertions in the 2025 national budget before the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) and the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.

Aquino said that all those involved in the anomalous flood control projects must be held accountable, and the government must recover the stolen money.

He also stressed that systemic reforms in the budget be introduced to avoid a repeat of such anomalies in the future.

“Sino ba talaga yung sangkot? Dapat ikulong sila. And hopefully, sooner than later, iyong pera, hindi pwedeng wala lang (Who are really involved? They should be imprisoned. And hopefully, sooner than later, the money should be recovered; it can’t just disappear just like that),” Aquino said.

“That's over a trillion, or about a trillion pesos, over the last couple of years na nawala (that was stolen). Kailangan may (There should be a) serious attempt to get back that money,” the senator said.

Aquino also pushed for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 1506, the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act, to ensure transparency in the use of public funds.

The bill, also known as the Blockchain the Budget Act, seeks to ensure that all government agencies will be mandated to upload and maintain budget-related documents—including contracts, project costs, bills of materials, and procurement details—in a Digital Budget Platform, making the process transparent and accessible to the public.

"We really have to change the system. Pass the CADENA Act, have a better budget, and get people more interested in where their money goes," he pointed out.

“Makukulong ang isang indibidwal na nag-upload ng false or misleading budget-related information. At ang probisyon na ito, na penalty, ay para panigurado na hindi po garbage in, garbage out ang mangyayari sa CADENA. Ibig sabihin po, wala pong takas dito (An individual who uploads false or misleading budget-related information will be imprisoned. And this provision, which is a penalty, is to ensure that it will not be garbage in, garbage out in CADENA. This means that no one can escape here here),”  he added.