(UPDATE) THE Department of Justice (DOJ) will request the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) to issue a “blue notice” against Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co.
“Latest from the DOJ… they will request for a blue notice,” Malacañang Press Officer Claire Castro told reporters on Friday.
A “blue notice” requests countries through Interpol “to locate, identify or obtain information on a person of interest in a criminal investigation.”
Co, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, has been implicated by former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office chief Henry Alcantara as having received huge kickbacks from contractors bidding for flood control projects.
Alcantara also linked Co to massive allocations in Bulacan from 2022 to 2025, totaling 426 projects worth P35.024 billion.
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Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has revoked Co’s travel clearance and ordered him home.
An immigration lookout bulletin order has also been issued against Co, who is currently in the United States on a medical leave.
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He has issued a statement promising to return home and face the charges against him.
Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. would not intervene in the flood control investigations amid allegations that suitcases of money were delivered to the residences of his cousin, Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.
“If this really happened, this should be proven, and the President will not intervene that’s why he ordered the creation of an independent commission to freely probe the issue,” Castro said.
“Relatives, allies, cousins or even siblings, everyone should be investigated if they need to be probed,” she added.
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During a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, Orly Regala Guteza, who identified himself as a former security consultant of Co, said he personally delivered the suitcases to the residences of Romualdez and Co.
The two lawmakers have denied Guteza’s claim.
The President earlier said his cousin and other allies would not be spared in the investigation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure anomalous flood control projects.
In a letter to Dy dated Sept. 25, Co said he received the news of the revocation of his travel authority “with both sadness and grave concern,” saying that his colleagues at the House of Representatives have “deprived” him of the time needed for medical care that he had long previously scheduled.
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He said the decision to revoke his travel clearance was “borne by pressure, rather than adherence to facts and procedure.”
“I have every intention of returning to the Philippines. I am also intent on belying the false claims made against me before the proper forum,” Co said.
He said that the statements before the Senate, the House and the media are “false, baseless and politically charged,” and has condemned him to the court of public opinion that stirred public hatred against his family and himself.
“I am very much apprehensive about what awaits me should I return, given that the public and your good office have prejudged me,” Co told Dy.
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He reiterated that he never made insertions in the 2025 budget and that the bicameral conference report and the 2025 General Appropriations Act were both approved by both the House and Senate during their plenary sessions.
He also belied accusations by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco that he received billions of pesos of funds from DPWH projects.
Co also denied that his family owned the aircraft that was used to fly former president Rodrigo Duterte to The Hague, and that he sought fish import allocations for “ZC Victory Fishing Corporation” as alleged by Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr.
He said the “ZC” stood for “Zamboanga City” and not “Zaldy Co”
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“I hope that, when I return, I will be afforded due process and that you would ensure the safety of my family and me,” Co said.
Replying to his letter, Dy gave Co until Sept. 29 to return to the country to answer personally the allegations against him.
Dy said his reply letter has been referred to the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, where Co is facing a complaint filed by Tiangco.
He assured Co that if he chooses to return home, the House “will coordinate with the proper authorities to secure your safety and that of your family.”
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Dy also said the revocation of his travel authority was not meant to prejudge him, but a “necessary opportunity to answer the allegations against you directly and in the proper forum.”
“Coming home will allow you to respond to this complaint, as well as to fully present and elaborate on the defenses you outlined in your letter,” Dy said.
Co’s failure to return home on Sept. 29 would be construed as a refusal to subject himself to the lawful processes of the House and could lead into appropriate disciplinary and legal action, Dy said.
“The only proper way to address these matters is not through correspondence from abroad, but by returning, appearing at the proper forum and answering the charges directly,” he said.
