Zaldy Co says Romualdez threatened to ‘shoot’ him over flood scam

MANILA, Philippines, November 17 ------ Former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co claimed that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez threatened to kill him if he “talked” about his involvement in the flood control scam or even returned to the country.

Co made the allegation in the third part of his video statement, saying Romualdez threatened him as early as March 2025 during a supposed meeting. “As early as March 2025, the speaker hinted to me in our meeting that he will shoot me if I talk,” Co said in Filipino.

Co further claimed that Romualdez warned he would also be killed if he returned to the Philippines. “After telling me in a phone call, ‘don’t come home, he will take care of you,’ Speaker Martin called again and said it would be dangerous for me to go home,” he said in Filipino. “Because they may hire someone to do a rubout on me or hire the police to kill me while in jail,” he added.

Meanwhile, in the same video statement, Co said the total kickbacks he received from anomalous infrastructure projects actually amounted to P56 billion—not P21 billion, as previously claimed by Department of Public Works and Highways engineers. “The real figure is P56 billion, and all that money went to President [Ferdinand Marcos Jr.] and Martin Romualdez,” Co said in Filipino.

He said he would reveal further details in the coming days, but did not explain why he was releasing his statement in parts. INQUIRER has already reached out to Romualdez’s camp for their comments on Co’s allegations. Co apologized to the public, including his family, saying he was only following orders. “I repeat: I did not keep any of the money. It just passed through me to be delivered to Speaker Martin Romualdez and President Marcos,” he said in Filipino.

Source: inquirer.net