Ched Rick Gatchalian

Rep. Elizaldy Co chairs the House Committee on Appropriations on September 14, 2022. Press and Public Affairs Bureau handout/File 

 

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Rep. Zaldy Co should clarify ties to SunWest, alleged budget insertions: lawmaker

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:958px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1757124738705ZALDY CO.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Rep. Elizaldy Co chairs the House Committee on Appropriations on September 14, 2022. <em>Press and Public Affairs Bureau handout/File </em></span></span></span></div><p style="text-align:left">MANILA  — Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, former chair of the House appropriations panel, must answer allegations linking him to budget insertions and clarify his ties with Sunwest Inc., the conglomerate that he founded and that landed billions in government contracts, a House leader said.</p><p>Surigao del Sur 1st District Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr., who chairs House Committee on Public Works and Highways, said it would be better for Co to appear and address the allegations.</p><p>Based on data from the Sumbong sa Pangulo website, Sunwest Inc. secured 79 government projects worth more than P10 billion. Some of the completed projects reportedly received “poor and unsatisfactory” ratings and were flagged for subpar quality.</p><p><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/5/five-reveals-from-the-flood-control-data-1848">Sunwest Inc. was founded by Co and his brother Christopher</a>, a former Ako Bicol representative.</p><p>&quot;Marami ngang doubts about him and his participation sa SunWest. Kailangan siguro ma-explain niya &#x27;yan. But as of moment this time, hindi namin alam saan siya ngayon,&quot; Momo said in an interview on DZMM TeleRadyo on Saturday.</p><p>Co is <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/4/rep-zaldy-co-in-us-house-spox-1345">in the United States for medical treatment</a>, House Spokesperson Princess Abante said this week. Co&#x27;s trip is covered by a travel authority, which government officials need when leaving the country.</p><p>Co used to be chairperson of House Committee on Appropriations, the panel that has jurisdiction on public spending and the national budget.</p><p>While he formally divested from Sunwest Inc. when he was elected into office, a Rappler investigation reported that he still retains interests in other firms connected to the group.</p><p>Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco has accused Co of inserting P13.8 billion in the bicameral conference committee version of the 2025 budget.</p><p>He said he wants the House inquiry on infrastructure projects to invite Co as a resource person to explain and prove that the &quot;probe will spare no one.&quot;</p><div><script data-wid="auto" type="text/javascript" src="https://content.viralize.tv/display/?zid=AAFz86TOfDIfqXIe&amp;cid=ABgJxWfgS0bZh6jA"></script></div><div><strong>&#x27;GAANO KALALIM ANG PARTICIPATION?&#x27;</strong></div><p>If the House infrastructure committee will push through with inviting lawmakers, Momo said the hearing should first establish how deep their alleged participation in the projects was, and whether the projects were substandard or were &quot;ghost&quot;, or existed only on paper.</p><p>When asked about supposed insertions on 2025 budget during the bicam conference, particularly in the proposed budget for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the Surigao del Sur lawmaker explained that the National Expenditure Program cannot be created or decided by a single lawmaker alone.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/4/p96-m-ghost-flood-control-project-in-bulacan-a-bicam-insertion-lawmaker-reveals-1926"><strong>P96-M &#x27;ghost&#x27; flood control project in Bulacan a &#x27;bicam insertion&#x27;, lawmaker reveals</strong></a></div><p>&quot;Usually bawat kasi congressional district, there is an engineering district. Ang process ng creation and crafting of National Expenditure Program, anything in the National Expenditure Program are not recommendation of any congressman. Of course, ang mga congressman or representative, ay magre-recommend din... pero it&#x27;s up to agency of government kung tatanggapin nila o hindi,&quot; Momo said.</p><p>(Usually, each congressional district has an engineering district. The National Expenditure Program is not created from the recommendation of any congressman. Of course, representatives may make recommendations, but it is up to the agency of government to accept it or not)</p><p>The Department of Budget and Management prepares the NEP based on economic targets and on government agencies&#x27; proposed spending. The NEP is, in turn, the basis for the General Appropriations Bill that the House proposes each year.</p><p>For the DPWH budget, Momo Sr. explained that proposals first come from district engineers and are elevated to the agency’s central office before being submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC) for review.</p><p>Momo said that Congress can only participate by proposing amendments or insertions once the executive branch submits the NEP.</p><p>Insertions, including at the bicameral conference committee to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the budget bill, have spurred debates on transparency in the budget process.</p><p>&quot;There is an issue na ibinalik sana namin... ang NEP ng 2026 because after the review ng Kongreso, nakita ho &#x27;yung redundancy of releases at mga hindi na dapat malagyan pa ng flood control,&quot; Momo added.</p><p>(We wanted to return the NEP for 2026 because we found redundant funding when we reviewed it)</p><p>Last Wednesday, after a &quot;very lengthy&quot; meeting of House party leaders, they decided to<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/9/3/house-leaders-to-send-back-poorly-constructed-national-budget-proposal-1640"> return the 2026 NEP to the DBM</a> because they &quot;do not know how to deal with it.&quot; </p><p>House leaders also<a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/business/2025/9/4/house-continues-budget-deliberations-to-wait-10-days-for-fix-on-mangled-2026-nep-entries-1218"> agreed to wait 10 days</a> for the DBM and the DPWH to address “mangled” entries in the 2026 NEP.</p><p>The Palace has since said that the DBM will issue errata and amendments to the NEP but that returning the document itself is not part of procedure.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>THE HOUSE PROBE SO FAR</strong></div><p>Momo said the House Infra Comm probe so far proved the presence of &quot;ghost&quot; or substandard flood control projects in Bulacan.</p><p>&quot;Dito naimbitahan natin yong district engineer, although yong assistant district engineer at iba pang sangkot nito wala sa hearing, but i think we have established that there is really a &#x27;ghost&#x27; project as well as substandard projects in Bulacan,&quot; he explained.</p><p>(We have already invited the district enfineer, although the assistant district erngineer and others implicated were not at the hearing)</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/20/marcos-inspects-flood-control-project-in-bulacan-as-probe-intensifies-0913"><strong>Marcos &#x27;very angry&#x27; over P55-M &#x27;ghost&#x27; riverwall project in Baliuag, Bulacan</strong></a></div><p>The Surigao del Sur lawmaker said he hopes more irregularities will be discovered in the next hearing which is on September 9.</p><p>Citing sacked district engineer Henry Alcantara&#x27;s testimony to the committee that he had relied on inspection documents instead of visiting the project sites himself, Momo said the panel will summon the personnel who prepared the documents.</p><p>The House probe has continued despite calls from critics, including Mamamayang Liberal party-list Rep. Leila de Lima,  that <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/8/22/de-lima-wants-independent-body-not-house-to-probe-flood-control-projects-1052">there should be an &quot;independent&quot; probe </a>into allegedly anomalous flood control projects because House members may have been involved.</p><p>Aside from the House, the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is also holding its own inquiry and the Palace is finalizing the creation of an investigation panel of its own.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEOS:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sw1kVPO8Omk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ty7DXWFNnOY?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QprU6hbHLtk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>"If I were Congressman Zaldy Co, tama rin dapat magpapaliwanag. Marami ngang doubts about him and his participation sa Sun West. Kailangan siguro ma-explain niya 'yan. But as of moment this time, hindi namin alam saan siya ngayon," Surigao del Sur 1st District Representative Romeo Momo Sr. said.</p>

"If I were Congressman Zaldy Co, tama rin dapat magpapaliwanag. Marami ngang doubts about him and his participation sa Sun West. Kailangan siguro ma-explain niya 'yan. But as of moment this time, hindi namin alam saan siya ngayon," Surigao del Sur 1st District Representative Romeo Momo Sr. said.

Zaldy Co should clarify ties to SunWest, alleged budget insertions: lawmaker

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Zaldy Co should clarify ties to SunWest, alleged budget insertions: lawmaker

Ched Rick Gatchalian,

ABS-CBN News

Published Sep 06, 2025 12:18 PM PHT

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Updated Sep 06, 2025 12:56 PM PHT

Read More:

Zaldy Co

Romeo S. Momo Sr.

House of Representatives

House Infra Committee

Flood control projects

Sunwest

Flooding

House Probe

DPWH

Department of Public Works and Highways

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