Rep. Zaldy Co out as appropriations panel chairman

MANILA, Philippines — In a surprising move, the lawmaker-son of President Marcos yesterday moved to declare the position of chairman of the committee on appropriations of the House of Representatives vacant, just as Congress resumed session after a month-long holiday break.

No objections were heard when House Senior Deputy Majority Leader Sandro Marcos, of the first district of Ilocos Norte, declared the powerful committee vacant, which was led by Rep. Zaldy Co of the Ako Bicol party-list since July 2022.

There were speculations that Co had displeased the President, which could have been the reason why it was the younger Marcos who made the move to strip him of the post.

No replacement for Co had been named, as of last night’s plenary deliberations.

Sources say, however, that Co’s successor may be someone close to Marcos, a neophyte or first-term congressman who underwent on-the-job training in his uncle’s office prior to 2022.

Meantime, Co extended his “heartfelt gratitude” to his House colleagues for “graciously accepting my decision to step down.”

“This decision, made with a heavy heart, is driven by pressing health concerns. The highly demanding nature of my role has taken its toll, and I now need to prioritize seeking the medical attention necessary for my well-being,” the Bicolano legislator said.

“I have always served at the pleasure of the majority. I am deeply honored to have been entrusted with the immense responsibility of steering the nation’s budget in service of the House of the people and the constituents we represent,” Co stated further.

Speaker Martin Romualdez is Sandro Marcos’ uncle, serving as House majority leader from 2019 to 2022 under former speakers Alan Peter Cayetano and Lord Allan Velasco when former president Rody Duterte was still in Malacañang.

As appropriations panel chairman, Co handled, along with senior vice chairperson Stella Luz Quimbo of Marikina’s second district, the national budgets for fiscal years 2023, 2024 and 2025, the last of which suffered vetoes from Marcos.

Co, a senior administration legislator, also heads the 61-member Party-List Coalition Foundation Inc. in the chamber, which comprises more or less 20 percent of the 246 total district congressmen across the country.

This developed as the Speaker vowed yesterday, during the resumption of session, that the House will continue to pursue its investigations that aim to eventually bring down prices of rice and other food items and electricity.

“Good governance demands transparency and accountability. This chamber is the vanguard of that principle. In the coming weeks, we will hold oversight hearings to ensure that the people’s money serves the people’s needs,” he told his colleagues.

Romualdez, from the first district of Leyte, said the chamber would also “demand answers for P11.18 billion worth of expired medicines and underutilized PhilHealth funds – an affront to every Filipino who struggles for access to health care.”

“And we will scrutinize the alleged misuse of confidential funds, for no peso must go unaccounted for,” the administration stalwart, who heads the Lakas-CMD party of the administration coalition, added.

“Let this be our promise: public trust is sacred, and this House will never betray it,” the Speaker said.