MANILA — Senator Bam Aquino called on former Rep. Zaldy Co to return to the Philippines and formally place his allegations under oath, urging him to reveal all information on the anomalous flood control projects and controversial budget insertions.

“I echo iyong sinasabi ng simbahan at ng maraming grupo na he should come home,” Aquino said, referring to Co, who recently posted a three-part revelation naming President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as recipients of alleged kickbacks from the P100-billion insertions in the 2025 budget.

“Come home, face the DOJ, face the ICI, face the Blue Ribbon, be under oath, and tell all, basically,” he added.

Aquino emphasized that all individuals involved in the anomalous flood control projects must be held accountable, the stolen funds must be recovered, and systemic reforms should be introduced to prevent future anomalies.

“Sino ba talaga yung sangkot? Dapat ikulong sila. And hopefully, sooner than later, iyong pera… that’s over a trillion, or about a trillion pesos, over the last couple of years na nawala. Kailangan may serious attempt to get back that money,” he said.

The senator also pushed for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 1506, the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act, which aims to make government budget documents fully transparent and accessible to the public.

Under the proposed law, all government agencies will be required to upload and maintain contracts, project costs, bills of materials, and procurement details in a Digital Budget Platform. Officials who fail to publish documents or deliberately upload false information will face administrative and criminal penalties.

“Lalagyan po natin ng pangil ang CADENA Act. Kung may mga dokumento na hindi po na-publish ng ahensya sa kanilang website o sa CADENA platform sa loob ng pitong araw, mayroon pong administrative penalty. At kung pagkatapos ng tatlumpung araw hindi pa rin naisasapubliko ang kontrata, bill of materials, o kahit ano mang minandatong dokumento ng batas, magiging criminal offense po ito,” Aquino explained.

“Makukulong ang isang indibidwal na nag-upload ng false or misleading budget-related information. At ang probisyon na ito, na penalty, ay para panigurado na hindi po garbage in, garbage out ang mangyayari sa CADENA. Ibig sabihin po, wala pong takas dito,” he added.

Aquino stressed that the CADENA Act, if enacted, would strengthen accountability, improve public trust, and ensure that government funds are used properly.