Several Facebook users are circulating a supposed video message from resigned Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co, a central figure in the trillion-peso flood control corruption scandal, saying he is “ready to reveal everything I know” about the anomalous infrastructure projects. This is fake.
The one-minute and seven-second clip was originally published on April 18 by an FB page with a disclaimer that it was generated using artificial intelligence “for entertainment and satire purposes.”
A man resembling the fugitive Co—who was captured in Prague, Czech Republic and is currently in the custody of Czech authorities, as confirmed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Philippine National Police—can be heard in the video saying in part:
“Ako si Zaldy Co, isa ako sa mga nasangkot sa isyu ng flood control project at ngayon ako ay nasa kustodiya na at pauwi na sa Pilipinas sa ilalim ng mga awtoridad. Hindi na ako mananahimik. Handa akong isiwalat ang lahat ng aking nalalaman, ang buong katotohanan sa likod ng proyektong ito.
Ibubunyag ko kung paano naganap ang sistematikong pag-abuso sa pondo ng bayan at kung sinu-sino ang mga nasa likod nito kabilang ang dalawang matataas na opisyal ng gobyerno na umano’y pasimuno ng katiwalian. Kapag ako ay humarap sa Blue Ribbon Committee, ilalatag ko ang lahat walang itatago. Kung ang kapalit nito ay ang aking pagkakakulong, handa akong panagutan basta’t makasama ko sa pananagutan ang mga tunay na mastermind
(I am Zaldy Co, one of those implicated in the flood control project issue. I am now in custody and on my way back to the Philippines under the authorities. I will no longer remain silent. I am ready to reveal everything I know, the whole truth behind this project.
I will expose how the systematic abuse of public funds occurred and identify those behind it, including the two high-ranking government officials who are alleged to have initiated the corruption. When I appear before the Blue Ribbon Committee, I will lay it all bare, nothing will be concealed. If the price is my imprisonment, I am ready to take responsibility as long as the real masterminds are held accountable with me).”
The man was speaking with a Policie Ceske Republiky logo and a locked door behind him, making it appear he was in a detention cell of the Czech Republic.
At least four FB users republished Co’s alleged video statement on April 19, but only one post disclosed in its caption that the clip was AI-generated.
Several detection tool results, expert insights and audio-visual red flags indicate that the footage was indeed made using an AI tool.
First, Co did not publish such a video on his official FB page, unlike when he uploaded his tell-all video series late last year where he accused cousins Marcos and former House speaker Martin Romualdez of masterminding the alleged “insertions” of P100 billion worth of projects in the 2025 national budget.
VERA Files reached out to the Deepfakes Analysis Unit of the India-based Trusted Information Alliance to check if the video and its audio were manipulated using AI.
AI detection tool Hive classified the 40 seconds of the audio track as AI-generated, while the rest was not. Hiya indicated that “this voice seems generated or modified by AI.” Aurigin AI gave a 70% confidence score that the audio is “partially AI-generated,” and Resemble.ai determined it to be “fake.” Results from ElevenLabs speech classifier showed that the audio track is “very unlikely” to have been created using its platform.
Hive detected the video as a deepfake, with an expert from DAU noting that the tool highlighted several markers of AI tampering in the clip. The DAU also ran the video through the platform Resemble.ai, which found it to be real.
But DAU’s manual analysis likewise revealed “pretty obvious visual artefacts” in Co’s face in the footage, including the “inflation and discolouration” of his lower lip throughout the video track, and his lower set of teeth appearing as a “white line hovering inside the mouth” in some frames.
Moreover, VERA Files Fact Check observed some unnatural pronunciation of Filipino words in the AI-generated clip, including “isyu” and “panagutan.” A closer inspection revealed that the actual logo of the Police of the Czech Republic differs from what was shown in the fake video, particularly the circular design at the center, the missing diacritical mark in the letter “c” in the word “České,” and the curved tail of the letter “y” in the word “Republiky.”
The AI-generated video surfaced two days after Marcos announced on April 16 that Co had been detained in Prague after crossing into the Czech Republic without proper documentation.
A day later, the chief executive said that Co was stopped at the German border after entering from the Czech Republic.
On April 20, Marcos said that a high-level coordination team will be deployed to Prague to ensure Co’s repatriation.
Originally posted by FB page Edd AI (created on May 12, 2020 as Edd AI Comedy), the posts carrying the AI-generated footage, including reposts by users without disclaimers, have collectively amassed 44,601 reactions; 8,180 comments; 16,016 shares and 1.18 million views as of writing.
