Sandro Marcos to ICI: I am willing to appear before the Commission at any time

House Majority Leader Ferdinand Alexander "Sandro" Marcos, son of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., has told the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) that he is "willing to appear before the Commission at any time."

"Let me state this clearly and without hesitation: I am willing to appear before the Commission at any time. I welcome the opportunity to shed light on any matter that may assist your review," said Marcos in a letter received by the ICI on Thursday. 

"I stand ready to cooperate, answer questions, and provide any clarification needed to move this investigation forward... Please inform my office of the schedule you deem appropriate. You have my commitment that I will be there," he added. 

The ICI, meanwhile, said that it will convene soon and decide when to invite Marcos. 

"We take note of his willingness to appear voluntarily before the commission, and we will wait for the commission to eventually set the date on when he will be coming," said ICI spokesperson Brian Hosaka.

"We will have the commission, because right now naghe-hearing sila. They would have to convene and decide on when the congressman will be available for a hearing," he added. 

Hosaka also said that it is possible that the meeting would be live streamed.

"Based on our rules, unless there's a formal request for an executive session, the default would be live stream," said Hosaka. 

"Ang komisyon naman e bukas sa any information, especially here na meron pupunta, regardless of who that person is, voluntarily appear and testify under oath eh malaking bagay sa akin 'yun," said the ICI spokesperson.  

(The commission is open to any information, especially here; if someone were to come, regardless of who that person is, and voluntarily appear and testify under oath, that would be a big help.)

Accusations

Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co has accused Sandro Marcos and his father of supposedly ordering insertions in the national budget.  

"Hindi lang po ang Pangulo ang may insertions sa budget, pati po si Congressman Sandro Marcos, mayroon din pong ipinapasok taon-taon," Co said. 

(The President is not the only one who has budget insertions. Congressman Sandro Marcos has insertions every year as well.) 

Sandro is the 1st District representative of the President's home province of Ilocos Norte.

In response, Congressman Marcos disputed Co’s allegations, branding these as part of a destabilization attempt.

"Anyone can sit in front of a camera from abroad and spew lies. The statements from the newly crowned champion of the DDS cabal, former Congressman Zaldy Co, are frankly as fantastical as they are false," Marcos said, referring to die-hard supporters of former President Rodrigo Duterte and his family.

"Hindi ito rebelasyon. Ito ay destablisasyon. Gusto niyang pabagsakin ang kasalukuyang administrasyon para ma-abswelto siya sa kanyang mga krimen," Marcos added.

(These are not revelations. This is destabilization. He wants to bring down the administration so he can be absolved of his crimes.)

Congressman Marcos said that based on an intelligence report, Co "already struck a deal with those who stand to benefit" from any power shakeup.

"The public should remember that Co is a person with no credibility whose vested interests are to release these videos to destabilize the government. Filipinos know Co to be the architect of this mess yet continues to insult their intelligence by saying wala siyang nakuha (that he didn't get anything)," Marcos said.

Further, Congressman Marcos said Co’s removal as appropriations committee chair was the result of a collective House decision after learning of Co’s "insatiable greed and corruption."

"Sa aking mga kababayan, si Zaldy Co ay hindi po isang journalist o truth crusader. Siya po ay isang kriminal na umiiwas sa hustisya. Huwag po tayong magpabudol sa kanya," Marcos added.

(My fellow Filipinos, Co is not a journalist or a truth crusader. He is a criminal who is evading justice. Let's not let ourselves be hoodwinked by him.) 

Malacañang, meanwhile, flagged the supposed inconsistencies in Co's videos.

"Sasagot po tayo at ang nais lang po natin ay tapusin niya ang kaniyang salaysay kasi tuwing mapupuna natin ang kaniyang mga inconsistencies, nababago rin po ang kaniyang statements,'' said  Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro.

(For us, before we respond to that, it's better if he finishes his story first if it was indeed him who was speaking in the video. From videos 1, 2, 3 up to 4 and 5, his hairstyle changed so as we see the videos and his inconsistencies, maybe he'll change his story.)  —VAL, GMA Integrated News