AKO Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co cried foul over the “unsubstantial claims” against him during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Monday, September 8, concerning the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

In a statement, Co vehemently denied all the “baseless and irresponsible accusations” against him. According to the lawmaker, the claims are politically motivated and are designed to mislead the public and deflect accountability.

“The 2025 GAA [General Appropriations Act] was certified and approved by both Houses of Congress and signed by the President. As mentioned during the Senate hearing, the President even vetoed some provisions and withheld the release of funds for projects,” Co said in a statement.

“However, the validity of the 2025 GAA is currently the subject of a case before the Supreme Court and the Ombudsman,” he added. “For this reason, I am unable to comment on the matter to the public but reserve my right to comment on this matter, if and when, required by the courts where this matter is pending.”

The statement comes after Navotas lone district Rep. Toby Tiangco revealed that Co is a proponent of billions worth of project insertions.

Besides this, Tiangco also mentioned that two partylists repeatedly appeared in the said budget proposal: AKO Bicol and BHW Partylists.

“May dalawang partylist po doon, na sa bicam lang—hindi ko alam ‘yung sa small committee—ay nadagdagan sila ng P2 billion,” the lawmaker said, pertaining to AKO Bicol and BHW Partylist.

“Ang alam ko po, ang partylist congressmen, ang allocation is [around] P100 to P150 million lang,” he added.

Tiangco said that project proponents are often also the congressional districts, putting emphasis that if the two categories are different, then the public should question it.