Deepfake video shows Zaldy Co singled out in flood control scandal

A deepfake video used AI-generated audio to portray resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co as purportedly claiming he was made the fall guy in the flood control probe and accusing higher officials of avoiding accountability.

The earliest upload traced by FactRakers was first posted on YouTube Shorts by JooTV on Nov. 3, which contained the fabricated lines:

Ang ipinagtataka ko lang, bakit ako lang ang kinasuhan? Alam naman nila na hindi ako nag-iisa sa mga proyektong ‘yan. May mga mas mataas pa sa akin. May mga taong mas may kapangyarihan at mas nakinabang pero ako lang ang itinuturo. Parang pinili lang nila kung sino ang madaling sisihin (What I can’t understand is why I’m the only one who was charged. They know I wasn’t the only one involved in those projects. There are people above me—those with more power and who benefited more—yet I’m the only one being singled out. It’s like they just chose whoever was easiest to blame).

The same clip surfaced a day later on Jennifer C. Eseguerra’s Facebook profile, accompanied by the text: 

Kaya nga hinayaan ka nila umalis para ikaw ang palabasin na mastermind. Zaldy Co nilaglag na si BBM at Romualdez (They let you go so it would look like you were the mastermind. Did Zaldy Co betray BBM and Romualdez)?

This AI-generated video went viral more than a week before Co, former House appropriations committee chair, was reported as having broken his silence on the flood control project controversy. He alleged that former Speaker Martin Romualdez and President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. had ordered the ₱100 billion “insertions” in the 2025 national budget. 

FactRakers found that the altered video repurposed B-roll footage of Co from ANC’s Sept. 29 report about the Independent Commission for Infrastructure’s (ICI) recommendation to file charges against him and Department of Public Works and Highways officials over the P290 million flood control project scandal in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. 

The same file video of Co appeared in multiple ANC and ABS-CBN broadcasts, including stories aired on Oct. 16 and Sept. 20 on ICI’s investigation. 

Co cofounded Sunwest Inc., which Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon earlier tagged as being behind the substandard flood control projects in the province.

The YouTube version carries a watermark of Wan AI [0:02 - 0:16], an AI generator capable of transforming image or text to video using prompts. 

Deepware, a deepfake detector and analysis tool, found a 99% probability that the video is deepfake. Hive, another AI detection tool, indicated a 76% likelihood that it contains deepfake content, while Hiya shows an 82% likelihood that the audio is AI-generated.

Throughout the 23-second video, Co shows a flat facial expression, inconsistent eye blinking and lip movements that do not sync with the fabricated audio, all common signs of AI manipulation. 

On Nov. 15, a five-minute video was uploaded on on Co’s official Facebook account in which he was shown saying:

Matagal akong hindi nagsalita dahil may direktang utos sa akin, huwag nang bumalik ng Pilipinas at manahimik na lamang (I kept quiet for a long time because I was given an order not to return to the Philippines and to stay silent).

Co resigned on Sept. 29 contractor-couple Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya told the Sept. 8 Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing that he and Romualdez allegedly received kickbacks from infrastructure projects.

He later filed a leave of absence from Ako Bicol Partylist while reportedly in the United States for medical purposes, saying he would return only when it was safe to address the “many false claims” against him.

The manipulated YouTube video has been crossposted on different platforms including Instagram and Tiktok. Eseguerra's Facebook post has reached 9,400 reactions, 2,400 comments and 2,800 shares as of writing. (MHA)