Chiz warns vs ‘diversions’ aimed to absolve Romualdez

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Wednesday hit back at a House leader for saying that he and Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co were the ones to blame for the alleged insertions in the 2025 national budget.

Escudero, former Senate President, cautioned the public against so-called “calculated diversions” in a bid to absolve House Speaker Martin Romualdez from the controversy on the alleged substandard and ghost flood control projects.

“Katawa-tawa naman ang ginagawa nila. Ang bilis naman nila i-abswelto si Speaker Romualdez, ilaglag si Rep. Zaldy Co, ilihis ang isyu at magtuturo ng iba,” the senator said in a statement.

(What they’re doing is laughable. They are so quick to absolve Speaker Romualdez, implicate Rep. Zaldy Co, divert the issue, and blame others.) 

The former Senate chief made the remark after Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo Puno said in an interview that Escudero and Zaldy Co, who is the former chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, should be blamed for the 2025 budget controversy.

Co had denied allegations that he made P13 billion worth of insertions in the P6.3-trillion national budget for 2025. 

“Ang isyu ay ghost projects, substandard projects at mga kickback na karamihan ay nasa budget ng 2022, 2023 at 2024 at bago ang mga taong ‘yan, ayon mismo sa Commission on Audit (COA), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) at paglalahad ng whistleblowers,” Escudero said.

(The issue here are the ghost and substandard projects and kickbacks, most of which came from the budgets in 2022, 2023 and 2024, and the years before that according to the COA, DBM, DPWH, and the testimony of whistleblowers.) 

“Samantala ang 2025 budget ay kasalukuyan pa lang na pinapatupad sa ngayon. Ayon kay DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, titiyakin daw niya na maayos ang pag-implement nito ‘di tulad ng sa mga nagdaang taon,” he added. 

(Meanwhile, the 2025 budget is still being implemented. According to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon, he will ensure that it is implemented properly unlike in previous years.) 

The senator thus advised the public: “Mag-ingat po tayo at huwag po magpadala sa dibersiyon at paglilihis na ito.”

(Let's be vigilant and not get swayed by these diversions.)

Romualdez was among several members of the House of Representatives who have denied links to kickbacks from flood control projects alleged by contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya in a Senate hearing.

It was Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco who previously disclosed in a Senate hearing on the anomalous flood control projects that some House lawmakers allegedly “parked”  their budget insertions to other congressional districts under the 2025 national budget. 

Last month, Escudero also denied involvement in any flood control projects in his home province of Sorsogon and other parts of the country.

He, however, admitted that Lawrence Lubiano, president of the Centerways Construction and Development Inc., was his campaign contributor in the 2022 elections. Centerways Construction and Development is one of the contractors that bagged P545-billion flood control contracts, as disclosed by President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. — RF, GMA Integrated News