Zaldy Co’s aides deny delivering bribe money from flood control projects

Two employees of Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co on Friday denied delivering huge amounts of supposed commissions from flood control projects to their boss. 

Mark Bunagan and Allan Colesio were responding to allegations made by Orly Guteza, who identified himself as a security consultant of Co, during the flood control probe conducted by the Senate blue ribbon committee. 

“I deny his statement that I was hired as a security consultant for Congressman Zaldy Co on December 5, 2024. The truth is, we only worked together as personal assistants for other family members of Congressman Co from February 1, 2025 until he stopped reporting for work in August 2025,” Bunagan said in his affidavit. 

Colesio, in a separate affidavit, echoed Bunagan’s statement concerning his tenure as the Cos’ employee.

Likewise, Bunagan and Colesio denied seeing or participating in the alleged movement of cash. 

“Sa buong panahon na kami’y magkasama sa trabaho, wala akong natatandaan, naririnig o nababasa ukol sa umano’y pagdadala ng male-maletang pera sa iba’t ibang lugar. Wala rin ni isang pagkakataon na kami ay nagdala o pinagdala ng maleta ng pera sa anumang lugar lalo na sa 56th Floor ng Horizon Residences, Taguig City at 42 Mckinley St., Taguig City, tulad ng sinasabi ni Orly Regala Guteza,” both aides said.

(During the entire time we worked together, I have no recollection of ever hearing or reading about deliveries of bags of cash to any location, including the 56th floor of Horizon Residences or 42 McKinley Street in Taguig, as claimed by Orly Regala Guteza.) 

In addition, both men said they were neither coerced nor compensated to issue their statements and expressed willingness to testify before the Senate or any court to corroborate their accounts.

Co earlier denied receiving money from the government’s flood control projects, saying he intends to return to the country to clear his name from baseless allegations. 

Earlier, the Department of Public Works and Highways requested the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze Co and his family’s P4.3 billion worth of air assets amid a government crackdown on supposed ill-gotten assets of personalities linked to the flood control projects mess.—LDF, GMA Integrated News