The Manila Times
BRINGING back to the Philippines former representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co from the Czech Republic, where he was arrested, could take one to three weeks, Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Friday. “Maybe as little as one week, but as long as three weeks. It depends on the DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs). They are the elite here, not me. I’m just in coordination,” Remulla said in a radio interview. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday night announced that Co was arrested in Prague after attempting to cross into the Czech Republic without proper travel papers. Remulla said there could be complications in bringing Co home because his deportation order is based on a canceled passport. He said that despite international requests for his arrest, Co seemed to be not worried at all, and did not even have his travel documents with him. Co appeared to be hopping from place to place because he could not stay for long in his residence in Portugal, where he was earlier reported to be hiding, Remulla said. “His last sighting was in Italy three weeks ago. Now, he was caught in [the] Czech Republic,” Remulla said. Once Co is back in the country, Remulla will bring him for arraignment to the Sandiganbayan, which had issued arrest warrants for the former congressman. Co will then be brought to Camp Crame, where he will be detained. Co faces multiple criminal charges, including graft and malversation of public funds, in connection with a P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. In a social media post on Friday, the president said Co was trying to get into Germany but was refused entry by border authorities. Co was then sent back to the Czech Republic. Co, former chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, left the Philippines in 2025 supposedly to seek medical treatment in the United States. He refused to return to the country after Marcos opened an investigation into anomalous flood control projects, including those contracted by the Co-linked Sunwest Corp. He was further swept into the controversy after several Department of Public Works and Highways officials identified him as among the high-ranking government officials who earned kickbacks from substandard or nonexistent flood defense works. Co was believed to be hiding in Portugal. His Philippine passport was canceled, but he was reported to have acquired a Portuguese passport years ago, which facilitated his stay in the European country. Co has repeatedly denied involvement in the flood control scandal, saying the accusations were politically motivated. Remulla said Philippine officials were already in Prague to coordinate his deportation and eventual return to the Philippines. Remulla said a Philippine police attaché already in Prague is working with Czech authorities, while the DFA is leading efforts to secure Co’s deportation. “Our police attaché is already there coordinating, and the Department of Foreign Affairs is undertaking very vigorous coordination with local and international counterparts to expedite his deportation back to the Philippines,” Remulla said in an interview. He said the initial information is that Co may have traveled by car from France before entering Czech territory, where he was intercepted by immigration authorities. Remulla said Co will be turned over to the Philippine National Police for custodial processing. In a press briefing in Iloilo City on Friday, Malacañang Press Officer Claire Castro said the president is ready to confront any revelations that may arise from a possible exposé by Co. Castro said Marcos was the first to reveal the systemic corruption gripping the government’s flood‑control program. It was the president who initiated the investigation into anomalous flood control projects, and he is ready to listen to what the people who were implicated may have to say, she said in Filipino. In his 2025 State of the Nation Address, Marcos called the flood control program a major corruption scandal, vowed to jail dozens of lawmakers and officials, and ordered a crackdown on ghost and substandard projects. Castro said Marcos was pleased at Co’s arrest. “As we’ve said, those who must be held accountable should answer for their actions. If a person has a warrant of arrest, is a fugitive, and has a canceled passport, who would not be happy that such a fugitive is being brought back to the Philippines to face justice?” she said. The Sandiganbayan has affirmed Co’s “fugitive from justice” status after he left the country and did not return for court proceedings. The court ruled that his continued absence and refusal to surrender or disclose his whereabouts indicate a clear intent to evade law enforcement and the judiciary. Castro said Co’s arrest was the result of the president’s firm stance to pursue and jail those involved in the scandal.
Go to News Site