President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday, November 24, rejected former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co’s allegations linking him to ₱1-billion in supposed cash deliveries through a Forbes Park drop-off house, saying the claims amounted to nothing more than online fabrications.
“Well, look at the quality of his statements,” the President said. “Mahaba na ang naging usapan natin sa fake news. Anyone can go online and make all kinds of claims and say all kinds of things.”
President Marcos also challenged Co to stop issuing statements from abroad and face the cases filed against him. “For it to mean something, umuwi siya rito. Harapin niya ang mga kaso niya,”
The President added that Co should directly confront him if he truly has accusations: “Kung meron kang akusasyon sa akin, nandito ako. Gawin niya pareho, para patas lang naman.”
“Harapin niya ang mga kaso niya. Kung meron siyang gustong sabihin, sabihin niya. Malalaman naman ng tao iyan eh. But come home, come home. Bakit ka nagtatago sa malayo? Ako, hindi ako nagtatago eh,” he said.
Co earlier claimed he personally delivered ₱1 billion in cash—₱200 million on December 2, 2024, and ₱800 million on December 5, 2024—to Undersecretary Jojo Cadiz at a house on 30 Tamarind Street, South Forbes Park, which he alleged was acquired on Marcos’ orders as a “bagsakan” and storage point for funds.
Co said the deliveries were part of ₱56 billion supposedly transferred between 2022 and 2025 through a network of SOP collections and budget-linked arrangements involving former Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Meanwhile, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson warned of “orchestrated” moves from partisan groups pushing for a civil-military junta amid rising political tension.
Lacson said the timing of Co’s statement fits a “coordinated, orchestrated and calibrated” sequence of events that intensified before the Iglesia ni Cristo rally last week.
He noted that retired military and police officers had approached him to join a proposed “reset,” which he refused, calling such proposals unconstitutional.
