(UPDATE) THE government is looking to tap the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (Uncac) to track down and bring back to the country fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co, Malacañang said on Monday. Ratified by the Senate in 2006 and with 192 countries as signatories, the Uncac is a treaty that provides a framework for international cooperation against corruption. Leveraging it to locate Co was first suggested by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson. “Yes, we can explore Uncac as it has international cooperation mechanisms, but it will have to depend on the country,” Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary Claire Castro said in a press conference. To get this started, the Presidential Inter-Agency Committee, headed by the executive secretary, must first be convened as it “implements and monitors the Uncac.” Castro said that the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Justice (DOJ) and Department of the Interior and Local Government have been consulted on the proposal raised by Lacson. “According to Foreign Affairs Secretary Lazaro, ‘Yes, we can explore Uncac as it has international cooperation mechanisms, but it will have to depend on the country. Countries are obliged to provide, as applicable and in accord with domestic law, possible mutual legal assistance to each other,’” Castro said in a press briefing. She said that Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla mentioned that “the matter has been referred to the commission for transnational crimes,” adding that he is “certain that the option mentioned by Senator Ping is part of the agenda.” Co, one of the key personalities implicated in the massive corruption mess tied to flood control projects, has been declared a fugitive from justice by the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division, which also ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to cancel his Philippine passport. The former Ako Bicol Party-list representative is reportedly hiding in Portugal with which the Philippines has no extradition treaty. Authorities are verifying reports that Co is using a Portuguese passport. Co and several others were investigated and charged over the corruption linked to the questionable P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. The arrest warrants against them were issued on Nov. 21. The government, through the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), has also requested a Red Notice from the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, to aid in finding and arresting him. Once approved, the notice would be circulated among Interpol’s 196 member-states to alert their respective law enforcement agencies that Co is wanted based on a local arrest warrant. WITH PNA