The political storm unleashed by the explosive “Saldiko” video has barely begun to settle, yet a new wave of allegations is already surging through the country’s political battleground. What started as a confession from a fugitive lawmaker accusing the current administration of billion-peso budget manipulations has now expanded into a full-blown counteroffensive—one aimed squarely at two of the nation’s most prominent political figures.
According to the latest flurry of vlogs and commentary channels, an unnamed Senate staffer has supposedly come forward with revelations that strike at the core of former Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson and former Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s reputations. The claim: that they, too, allegedly engaged in the very “insertions” they have long condemned.
This narrative is being pushed aggressively—almost in lockstep—by the same online voices that amplified the original “Saldiko” confession.
Targeting the “Watchdogs”
Lacson and Sotto have, for decades, built their public personas on opposing hidden budget insertions. Lacson, in particular, is widely known as the Senate’s most relentless “budget hawk,” meticulously combing through appropriations to expose questionable allocations.
That’s exactly why the new allegations are so explosive.
The claim being circulated:
That Congressman “Zaldy Co”—now central to the budget controversy—is “exposing” what critics call the “top secret” of previous administrations. Namely, that Lacson and Sotto had their own preferred projects quietly added to the national budget during their years in power.
In online circles, the label “Teklop” (folded or defeated) is being stamped onto their names, signaling a supposed end to their long-held moral authority.
The “Senate Staffer” Twist
The star of this counter-narrative is a mysterious, unnamed “Senate staffer” who has allegedly “sung” and confirmed everything:
- That insertions were regularly made under Lacson and Sotto
- That these were compiled by their offices
- And that the projects often landed in the budget late in the process—exactly like the claims in the “Saldiko” confession
No name. No documents. No public testimony.
But the accusation alone has been enough to spark an online frenzy.
A Direct Attack on Lacson’s Legacy
If these claims are true—even partially—they would be devastating. Lacson’s credibility is built entirely on the idea that he fought pork barrel politics while others indulged in it.
The allegation attempts to flip that image:
From watchdog → to participant
From critic → to practitioner
From whistleblower → to hypocrite
Commentators pushing the narrative insist that the “Saldiko” video was only one side of a much bigger, deeper, systemic problem—one that allegedly includes past administrations and former Senate leaders.
A Masterclass in Political Counterpunching
This new wave of accusations has one primary effect: it muddies the battlefield.
Instead of asking:
“Is the current administration guilty of corruption?”
The conversation becomes:
“Weren’t they all doing it?”
It is a familiar political maneuver—classic “whataboutism”—designed to blunt the impact of the original scandal by dragging everyone into the mud.
The message:
No one is innocent.
Everyone has insertions.
This is how the system has always worked.
A Hall of Mirrors
The result is a dizzying political hall of mirrors where:
- Every accusation is answered with a counter-accusation
- Every whistleblower is matched with an anonymous insider
- Every moral critic is recast as a player in the same game
The “Saldiko” confession raised questions about current leaders.
Now the alleged “Senate staffer” confessions raise parallel questions about those who came before.
And the public is left wondering:
Who is telling the truth?
Is anyone telling the truth?
Or is the entire budget process simply a series of “insertions” controlled by whoever has the most power at the moment?
The Bigger Picture
What is emerging is not just a battle between individuals, but a war over the narrative:
- The “Saldiko” video challenged the administration.
- The new allegations challenge the critics.
- Both sides accuse the other of being the true mastermind.
Yet the most unsettling possibility is also the simplest one:
Maybe the “top secret” is not that Lacson or Sotto allegedly made insertions.
Maybe it’s that the system itself has always allowed it—and that every administration has simply played the same game.