Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co recently claimed that the Bicol Region had “no billion-peso” allocation for flood control projects in the 2023 national budget. This is false.
STATEMENT
In a press release shared with reporters via Viber on Oct. 25, Co was quoted as saying:
“There’s no truth to the alleged billion-peso appropriations for Bicol flood control. In fact, the region’s funding for national roads and flood control are among the smallest in the country.”
Source: House of Representatives [Viber group], No billion-peso budget for Bicol flood control, says Rep. Zaldy Co, Oct. 25, 2024
The statement was in response to former Palace spokesperson Harry Roque, who falsely claimed in an Oct. 24 Facebook post that the Bicol Region had a P9.4 billion budget for flood control in 2023.
FACT
The 2023 General Appropriations Act shows that Bicol had the second-highest allocation for flood control among the country’s regions, with a total of P29.4 billion.
The previous year’s allocation was increased by P2 billion in 2024, bringing the total to P31.9 billion. Hence, Bicol has had P61.4 billion appropriation for flood control for the last two years.
Co is chair of the appropriations committee of the House of Representatives, which scrutinizes the annual budget and expenditures of the national government. He wields strong influence in the country’s budget allocations.
In 2021, the Co family was listed as owners of Sunwest Inc. (formerly Sunwest Development and Construction), a favored contractor during the Arroyo administration.
Co entered into a contract with the DPWH in 2018 for access road construction and rehabilitation in Albay.
However, in 2022, Co issued a statement denying ownership of the company after it was tagged in controversies involving Pharmally and the multi-billion peso laptop project of the Department of Education. Co said his family has not been a Sunwest Inc. stakeholder since 2019.
Sunwest contracts are now named under Aderma Angelie Alcazar, the new company president. Alcazar was a former chairperson of Ako-Bicol Partylist.
Editor’s note: This fact check was produced with the help of a student from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines as part of their internship.
