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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider At least P22B worth of cash-filled luggages delivered to Zaldy Co, says ICI interim report

At least P22B worth of cash-filled luggages delivered to Zaldy Co, says ICI interim report

Published Oct 29, 2025 02:38 pm

At A Glance

  • A whopping P22 billion worth of cold cash stuffed in luggages were apparently delivered to former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, an interim report of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) indicated.
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (Contributed photo)
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co (Contributed photo)

A whopping P22 billion worth of cold cash stuffed in luggages were apparently delivered to former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, an interim report of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) indicated.
The amount--alleged kickbacks from anomalous and "ghost" flood control projects--resulted from figures provided by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan 1st District engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, who admitted their involvement in the massive corruption scandal during their appearances in ICI hearings.
In the interim report that summarized its initial investigation, the ICI revealed to the public for the first time the alleged money that the beleaguered former lawmaker could have amassed from flood control project payoffs.
According to ICI, several deliveries of cash were made to Co's penthouse and Pasig residence from 2022 to 2025.
Each delivery involved at least seven vehicles, which contains at least five to six "large pieces of luggage". Each luggage would contain P50 million, according to ICI.
The interim report stated that the first alleged delivery to Co was made in 2022 at Shangri-La The Fort. Four to five deliveries were made there, translating to at least P7 billion to P8.75 billion in total transactions.
Meanwhile, in 2023, one delivery was made to The Fort, while two to three deliveries were made to Co's residence in Valle Verde 6 in Pasig City. These deliveries could amount to between P5.25 billion and P7 billion.
In 2024, five to six deliveries were made to Co in his Pasig residence, which could amount to another P8.75 billion to P10.5 billion.
ICI said that Hernandez made one last delivery to Co this year worth P1.75 billion.
All in all, Co could have received kickbacks worth P22.75 to P28 billion.
According to ICI, this was also the time when Hernandez discovered that the Co's residence in Pasig "was exclusively used as a storage of the cash deliveries" since there was no furniture inside and "only pieces of luggage coming from different sources" were found.
"Engr. Hernandez discovered this when he made the delivery to Paul Estrada. It bears stressing that Paul Estrada was made to sign an acknowledgment receipt every delivery. The acknowledgment receipts are in the possession of Engr. Alcantara’s brother-in-law, Mr. Wirt Walter Rosales," ICI's interim report stated.
The interim report was 19 pages long, and detailed various individuals' involvement in the anomalous flood control projects, including Co. The ICI has recommended the filing of bribery and plunder charges against these individuals.
​ICI said that Alcantara testified to have met Co multiple times in the past. "They spoke about Cong. Zaldy’s plans to bring funds to his district for different various projects," the commission said.
"A month later, Engr. Alcantara submitted as list of proposed flood control projects to Cong. Zaldy. And between the 2022 to 2025 Cong. Zaldy became a proponent to the projects of B1-DEO which resulted to about 426 flood control projects in the total amount of P35.024B," ICI's report read.













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