De Lima questions timing of Zaldy Co's videos

Mamamayang Liberal party-list Representative and House Deputy Minority Leader Leila de Lima on Saturday questioned the timing of former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co's videos as their release preceded the upcoming three-day rally for accountability in flood control projects of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC).

"'Yung timing sa akin ay suspect (For me, the timing is suspect)," De Lima said at a news forum in Quezon City.

"Ang hindi natin maiwasan isipin is 'yung timing, dahil nga may mga plano na malawakan na mga kilos protesta (One cannot avoid thinking about the timing because massive protest actions have been planned)," the lawmaker said.

The INC is set to hold its rally at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila from November 16 to 18, or Sunday to Tuesday. Protest actions by other groups are likewise expected to be held on Sunday.

The religious group said the "rally for transparency, accountability, justice, and peace" is set to highlight the public clamor for a proper and transparent probe into the anomalous flood control projects and other climate-tagged projects "where over a trillion pesos were estimated to have been lost due to corruption since 2023."

INC spokesperson and Minister of the Gospel Bro. Edwil Zabala has said the gathering is not intended to interfere in politics. 

Two days before the rally, Co surfaced via recorded video and claimed that it was President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. himself who instructed the insertion of P100-billion worth of projects through the bicameral conference committee.

In the second part of his supposed tell-all released Saturday, Co claimed that he, members of his staff, and security guards delivered suitcases containing money to Marcos and former Speaker Martin Romualdez. 

Co also claimed that Marcos received 25% from the supposed insertions, equivalent to P25 billion.

The President, however, brushed off Co's allegations that he received billions of pesos off budget insertions, saying he doesn't "want to even dignify" Co's claims. 

Malacañang has expressed doubt that the INC protest action would spark outrage against the Marcos administration, saying it believed INC members know who is lying and who is truly working for the country.

'Vigilance'

Meanwhile, De Lima called on the public to be vigilant and discerning about Co's "bombshell" exposé.

"We have to look at it, you know, deeper… What is critical here is that if they would be able to convince enough forces, enough elements, of the military, of the AFP, to join those calls either for the resignation or the ouster of the President," she said.

The party-list lawmaker also reiterated her call for Co to return to the country and shed light on his allegations against Marcos and Romualdez under oath.

"Unless and until mag-swear sila, mag-under oath ang kaniyang testimony, at under oath din 'yung kanilang mga statements, at backed up by evidence… wala pong probative value, mga kwento-kwento pa lang 'yan… pero hindi po ibig-sabihin niyan, balewalain na lang natin," De Lima said. 

(Unless he gives his testimony under oath, and that their statements were put on record under oath, under oath, his claims won't have probative value. It will just be a story... but we cannot say that we should ignore these.)

'Strategize muna sila'

Meanwhile, Senator Ronald "Bato" dela Rosa called out some sectors for allegedly staying quiet about Co's supposed claims.

"Tahimik ang Pinklawans & Komunista sa expose ni Zaldy Co. Strategize muna sila how to appear righteous & anti-corruption kuno at the same time prevent the downfall of this gov't from w/c they benefited a lot," Dela Rosa said in a Facebook post.

Dela Rosa, a staunch ally of former President Rodrigo Duterte and a critic of the Marcos administration, has been relatively out of the public eye following Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant against the senator. — VDV, GMA Integrated News