MANILA — Leaders of major political blocs in the House of Representatives on Monday rejected former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co’s video message as having no legal value and pressed him to return to the Philippines to testify under oath before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).

Representatives of the Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), National Unity Party (NUP), Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (CMD), and Nacionalista Party (NP) said Co’s video, which was recorded abroad, cannot substitute for sworn testimony in the ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities involving flood-control projects and 2025 budget insertions.

In a statement, Deputy Speaker Ferdinand Hernandez of the PFP said his party supports Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III’s efforts to ensure accountability, noting that the Speaker has taken “lawful and necessary steps” to compel Co to return to the country.

“From day one the Speaker has acted firmly and within the bounds of the law to compel Mr. Co to return to the country in order to answer the allegations against him. The cancellation of Mr. Co’s travel authority and his subsequent coordination with the Department of Justice were all lawful and necessary steps to ensure his return to the country,” Hernandez said.

He added that Co must appear personally because “jurisdiction cannot be exercised over someone who refuses to appear,” stressing that “no video recorded abroad can substitute for sworn testimony, cross-examination, and accountability before the proper bodies.”

Hernandez said House members previously summoned by the ICI have voluntarily appeared, “while Mr. Co has not.”

He said Co has the opportunity to “air his side, present evidence, and answer questions under oath,” adding that the government can ensure his safety if required.

NPC Deputy Speaker Kristine Singson-Meehan said Co’s video is “unsworn, unnotarized, unauthenticated and produced abroad, and therefore carries no legal weight or value as formal testimony.”

She described the video’s “emotional and theatrical tone” as an attempt to recast Co “as a victim rather than the official who oversaw House-side adjustments during the 2025 budget process,” calling it a distraction from questions over alleged anomalous insertions and ghost projects.

Singson-Meehan said budget rules make clear that bicameral adjustments originate from Congress and that Co handled the House-side changes. She urged the public to rely on evidence and due process, adding that Co should file a sworn affidavit, submit documents and appear before authorities “because only those steps — not unsworn videos — lead to a credible review.”

She also commended President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. for initiating investigations into budget irregularities, saying “the truth will be determined by evidence, by audits and by due process,” and that “the facts, not dramatized narratives,” should guide public understanding.

NUP Deputy Speaker Ronaldo “Ronnie” Puno called for an expedited ICI investigation, citing Co’s allegations involving former Speaker Martin Romualdez, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, Undersecretaries Jojo Cadiz and Adrian Bersamin, supposed P100-billion insertions, and an alleged threat made in March 2025.

“We further call for Mr. Co to appear before these investigations and testify under oath to these accusations he publicly raised. If his assertions are grounded in fact, then there can be no fear in bringing the full truth to light,” Puno said, adding that the NUP is guided by the principle that allegiance should be “to the truth.”

NP Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Vicente B. Emano said Co must subject himself to the same scrutiny faced by other public officials.

“If Mr. Co truly believes in what he is saying, then he must submit himself to the same standards of scrutiny that every public servant is expected to uphold,” he said, noting that the House has cooperated with the inquiries.

Emano said Co’s statements “cannot and should not distract from the reforms and good-governance efforts being pursued by Congress” until he returns to testify before the proper bodies.