Civic leader Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia
By Tracy Cabrera
REPRESENTATIVE Zaldy Co’s second video was crafted to provoke reaction, according to civic leader Dr. Jose Antonio Goitia, who serves as chairman emeritus of Alyansa ng Bantay sa Kapayapaan at Demokrasya (ABKD), Peoples Alliance for Democracy and Reforms (PADER), Liga Independencia Pilipinas (LIPI) and the Filipinos Do Not Yield (FDNY) Movement.
“It was dramatic, emotional and filled with accusations meant to suggest misconduct at the highest levels of leadership,” Goitia noted, yet on scrutiny the public must be reminded, he said, that “drama is not proof.”
Accordingly, he cited that claims of this magnitude cannot rely on videos recorded abroad—they must be backed by real, verifiable evidence.
Co’s boldest statement yet is his claim that he personally delivered suitcases of cash to Malacañan and to House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez.
For Goitia, that allegation collapses the moment it is examined: “The claim that you personally delivered money to the President or the Speaker is extremely serious. You cannot expect anyone to accept that based on words alone. There must be documents, records, or any form of proof. Without that, it remains just a story.”
Co also released photos of rows of luggages, claiming they contained cash payouts supposedly destined for the Palace. But as Goitia noted, pictures of bags do not prove anything.
“There is no verification of where they were taken, when they were taken, who handled them, or what they contained. Not even a proof if it was really delivered to the President or to the Malacañan. If these deliveries really happened, there should be a clear trail. But none was presented—no logs, no dates, no documents,” he pointed out.
Co’s statements also contradict one another: He claims he delivered money; he claims he never received money; he claims he acted under pressure; he claims he is exposing the truth.
“You can’t present two contradictory statements and expect both to be taken as truth,” Goitia stressed. “When a story conflicts with itself, it isn’t truth—it’s a sign that the narrative has (loop)holes.”
As he reiterates, if Co’s allegations were truly grounded in truth, he should present them here at home, under oath, before institutions empowered to test their validity—not through videos filmed overseas, far from cross-examination.
This insistence on avoiding proper legal scrutiny becomes even more glaring when set against the public record: President Marcos Jr. vetoed ₱194 billion in questionable budget items, a documented act that contradicts any claim of hidden insertions.
Finally, Goitia underscored the changes in
Co’s story, but what remains unchanged is the absence of proof.
“If there is no evidence, then it is not truth. The nation should not be disturbed by allegations that have nothing solid behind them. Noise can stir chaos for a moment, but it cannot rewrite facts. It won’t be the noise that defeats the truth. It’s the truth that will silence the noise,” he concluded.
