How high does it go?

According to resigned Ako Bicol congressman Elizaldy Co, in the scandal over budget insertions and kickbacks from ghost and substandard projects, the buck stops with President Marcos himself, with cousin Martin Romualdez merely the implementer.

But Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco indicates that it doesn’t go higher than Romualdez, and Co is just muddling the issue.

Co’s weekend bombshells, not surprisingly, served as fodder for the rallies that began yesterday, with Duterte diehard supporters holding their own protests.

Apparently to prove his point that the President had nothing to do with project insertions in the 2025 outlay, Tiangco said that as early as November last year, when the scandal over the mangled budget erupted, BBM had summoned him and cousin Martin to Malacañang.

Tiangco recalled that there was a Sunday family lunch on Nov. 24 at the official presidential residence, Bahay Pangulo in Malacañang Park, across the Pasig River from the Palace. Romualdez was in Tacloban and was told by phone to return to Manila.

When Romualdez arrived in the afternoon, BBM met with him and Tiangco in a private study. Tiangco said that as soon as they sat down, BBM gave Romualdez a tongue-lashing so blistering that Tiangco felt embarrassed.

“Galit na galit siya,” Tiangco told “Storycon” on One News last Friday. “Nanliliit nga ako.”

He maintains that he has no idea why he was made to witness the scolding. He wondered if he should leave the room, but decided to stay put.

What prompted the tongue-lashing?

Tiangco said BBM was furious over the projects inserted for funding in the National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang to Congress. The mangling of the NEP by the House appropriations committee under Co de-funded the President’s flagship projects.

BBM, a former congressman, told Romualdez that he was aware of the budget insertions in aid of commissions.

Tiangco said BBM knew about the 20 percent commission that Co, as appropriations committee chair, demanded from his colleagues per inserted project.

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Narrating a personal experience, Tiangco said that in 2023, he had tried to bypass Co and tapped another congressman known to be close to Romualdez to insert in the NEP a P200-million project for Navotas.

But the congressman still alerted Co, who reportedly offered a discount to Tiangco since he is a presidential relative by marriage: Co’s kickback was lowered to 10 percent.

Tiangco said he could not sell this to the public works district engineer in his turf, so he dropped the proposal.

Why didn’t Tiangco just go directly to the speaker? Even Romualdez asked him the same question. Tiangco gave us an unconvincing explanation. My guess is because at the time, there was already a rumored rivalry between the two.

Narrating the Nov. 24 meeting at Malacañang, Tiangco said he had never seen BBM so infuriated.

Tiangco said BBM told Romualdez: “Kayong dalawa ni Zaldy, kuha kayo nang kuha ng pera sa executive, wala na akong nagagawa diyan. At kung ano man yung ginagawa nyong kalokohan, wala akong kinalalaman diyan, wala akong natatanggap diyan... nakakasira kayo sa gobyerno ko.”

The dressing down of Romualdez went on for over one-and-a-half hours, Tiangco told Storycon. “Mas marami pang masasakit na salita na sinabi doon. Mga isa’t kalahating oras na sinesermunan siya.”

Reacting to BBM’s scolding, Romualdez reportedly promised to restore during the bicameral conference the funds taken out of the flagship projects. But after the bicam, BBM became more furious when this didn’t happen and the funding was even further reduced, Tiangco said.

Two days after the Nov. 24 meeting, BBM and his wife left for a one-day visit to the United Arab Emirates. But even from Dubai, BBM continued to berate his cousin, telling Romualdez that a leadership change was needed at the House of Representatives. This is according to Tiangco, who said he was informed about it by Romualdez himself – hanggang sa Dubai ba naman, sinesermunan ako!

This was around the time that rumors began swirling about a possible leadership change in the House, with Tiangco among the names being floated as replacement alongside Bacolod Rep. Albee Benitez.

Romualdez managed to hold on to the speaker’s post. But on Jan. 13, BBM’s son, Ilocos Norte Rep. Sandro Marcos, moved to strip Co of the chairmanship of the appropriations committee. Romualdez made no move to challenge the motion, which was approved by the plenary, and Co followed without protest.

We have yet to hear Romualdez’s reaction to Tiangco’s story. Tiangco told us that since resigning as speaker, Romualdez has rarely been seen at the House.

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Co, in his online post, said Romualdez gave him instructions on the budget insertions and told him not to return to the country allegedly because this was what BBM wanted.

On the other hand, Tiangco told Storycon that Romualdez has a habit of telling people that he is acting on behalf of BBM, because it makes it easier for Romualdez to get what he wants.

Tiangco insists that during the Nov. 24 meeting, BBM had made it clear to Romualdez that the budget insertions and kickbacks must end. BBM’s message, as narrated by Tiangco, was, “wala akong natatanggap diyan ha, so tigilan nyo yung corruption sa House.”

But the corruption didn’t stop. So, can BBM be considered complicit, for not doing enough to stop the looting?

Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman, who was also implicated by Co in BBM’s supposed budget insertions, correctly pointed out that the NEP contains all the projects for funding that a president wants. “It’s the president’s budget,” she said; why would he need to ask lawmakers to insert priority projects?

Tiangco has the same view on presidential insertions in the NEP. “That doesn’t make sense,” he told us.

Despite the supposed fury, BBM signed the 2025 General Appropriations Act on Dec. 30, ostensibly to avoid having a reenacted GAA, which also opens opportunities for corruption.

But from the start, his signing of the “most corrupt” GAA ever, with token vetoes of unprogrammed appropriations or the new pork barrel, has raised questions on how much of the budget mangling enjoyed his blessings.

Tiangco says he understands the difficulty of dispelling this public suspicion of BBM’s possible collusion.

“The President will have to prove na hindi totoo yan (that it isn’t true),” Tiangco said. “I hope the people can believe me.”

Asked about Co’s allegation about the 20 percent kickbacks for BBM and Romualdez in P100 billion worth of budget insertions, Tiangco said, “Yung kay Presidente, sigurado ako, wala.”