(UPDATE) PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered concerned government agencies to pursue an extradition treaty with Portugal to facilitate the return of former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday. In a press conference in Malacañang, Remulla said Co was still believed to be in Portugal, a country that does not have an extradition treaty with the Philippines. “The president has instructed us to formally apply for an extradition treaty with them,” he said. He said he was not privy to details about the Philippines’ extradition treaty discussions with Portugal or if there was an expected deadline for Co’s arrest. “We do not practice extrajudicial means of acquiring jurisdiction over a person so we will always go through the rational, legal and acceptable ways of acquiring jurisdiction over a person,” he said. Remulla said that the government has also coordinated with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to request Co’s repatriation. “Through Interpol, we will request the repatriation of Zaldy Co, if he is indeed in Portugal,” he said. In December last year, Co’s Philippine passport was canceled, a move that aimed at preventing him from further hiding amid allegations of corruption in connection with the flood control anomalies. Remulla said that authorities suspected Co was holding a Portuguese passport. “Our information is that he has a Portuguese passport obtained through an immigration clause granted to him. This information is already about 10 years old, but we will still verify it,” he said. Co, who served as former House Appropriations Committee chairman, is facing graft, malversation and falsification of public documents charges over the construction of an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. The former lawmaker denied all the allegations against him and posted videos online accusing the president and his cousin, former speaker Martin Romualdez, of being behind the flood control bribery scam. The Department of Public Works and Highways and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) have recommended to the Office of the Ombudsman the filing of new plunder, graft and direct bribery charges against Co and several other members of the House of Representatives linked to congressmen who are also contractors. Meanwhile, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said there was no instruction yet from the president on the ICI, which was left with just one member following the resignation of two commissioners.