Dizon alerts 3 probe bodies to Co ‘air assets’
Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Wednesday said he had informed the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) about private planes and helicopters allegedly owned by Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co worth P4.7 billion.
The announcement was seen as pressure being applied by Dizon on a key political figure, made a day after Co’s name again cropped up in a congressional inquiry into flood control project anomalies.
The new leadership of the House of Representatives last week asked Co, former chair of the House committee on appropriations, to return from abroad and answer in person allegations linking him to questionable budget insertions and government contractors now facing scrutiny.
On Tuesday, the National Bureau of Investigation included him among those it would charge with indirect bribery and malversation of public funds.
At a press conference, Dizon said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) had reported to him the assets owned by the lawmaker and “we have written to the AMLC, DOJ and the ICI informing them about this and we will leave it up to them on what to do with these assets.”
He noted that the air assets were registered to different companies believed linked to Co.
“Caap sent us a letter [about] the 11 registered air assets of Congressman Zaldy Co. Total of P4.7 billion value of his air assets are registered to various companies. First is Misibis, second is Hi-Tone, which I think is connected to Congressman Zaldy Co, and also QM Builder. I don’t know, but I think they are related,” Dizon said.
Misibis Aviation owns air assets with a combined estimated value of $74.65 million (P4.29 billion at the current exchange rate), including two AgustaWestland AW1398 helicopters worth $16 million each, a Gulfstream 350 jet valued at $36 million, two Bell 407 helicopters pegged at $3 million each, and a Bell 206B3 helicopter estimated at $650,000.
Hi-Tone Construction Development Corp. holds aircraft valued at a total of $7.94 million (P456 million). Its fleet consists of a Cessna 414A Chancellor worth $700,000, an Agusta A109E helicopter pegged at $6.9 million, and a PA 31-350 Chieftain aircraft estimated at $340,000.
Meanwhile, QM Builder lists a single air asset—a Bell 505 helicopter—with an estimated value of $2 million (P114 million).
On Tuesday, the NBI recommended the filing of charges against Co, Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada, former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, and others for indirect bribery and malversation of public funds.
This followed the testimony of dismissed Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara at the Senate blue ribbon panel hearing on the same day linking them to anomalous flood control projects.
Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla also said that a freeze order on their bank accounts has been issued by the AMLC.
In a statement on Alcantara’s bombshell, Co said: “The allegations made against me during the Senate hearing are false and baseless.”
“I reserve my right to respond to these allegations at the proper time before the proper forum,” said the congressman, who left for the United States in July for medical treatment.
Parliamentary courtesy
Speaker Faustino Dy III officially revoked Co’s travel clearance last Friday, asking him to come home within 10 days to the answer the allegations.
The Senate panel, however, is not going to ask the Ako Bicol party list lawmaker to appear at its hearings.
Citing the time-honored inter-parliamentary courtesy in Congress, Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson on Wednesday said it would not be proper to force Co’s attendance in the Senate inquiry on the flood control project mess.
“There’s inter-parliamentary courtesy. He is still a congressman and there’s a tradition that voluntarily, he can appear and testify or manifest. But to send an invitation or even a subpoena, it’s not proper,” Lacson said. “That’s the tradition being observed when we started here in the Senate.”
But the senator, who heads the blue ribbon committee, said Co is definitely welcome to attend the next hearings if the congressman wants to.
In the case of former Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr., Lacson said he has yet to consult members of the blue ribbon panel.
“I don’t know because his name was not on the freeze order. This freeze order was based on a formal complaint, which Secretary Remulla did say that the NBI filed a formal complaint against those who were named by Alcantara. And I noticed, when it was enumerated… Revilla’s name was not included. I don’t know why,” Lacson said.
Remulla had said they still needed to investigate further the allegations against Revilla and Commissioner Mario Lipana of the Commission on Audit.
In the case of Estrada and Villanueva, Lacson said it is up to them if they want to inhibit themselves from the Senate investigation.
“I cannot prevent them from attending. Inhibition is a personal decision. It’s your call if you think, out of delicadeza, you should not participate,” he said.
House suspends probe
Meanwhile, the House infrastructure committee (infracomm) conducting a similar probe has decided to suspend its hearing in deference to the ICI investigation, Bicol Saro Rep. Terry Ridon said.
In a press briefing on Wednesday, Ridon said that as he spoke, Speaker Dy was on his way to the ICI to hand over some of the documents gathered by the committee during its probe.
“Today we’re announcing the suspension of proceedings of the House infrastructure committee, to give way to the full and impartial proceedings of the [ICI]. Within the next few days, the infracomm will turn over all transcripts, documents, and other pieces of information as evidence to the ICI,” Ridon said.
“It is our commitment to fully cooperate with ICI on any and every aspect of our previous proceedings,” he added.
The infracomm was able to conduct two hearings before the ICI was created by President Marcos.
Before the ICI buckled down to work, both the House infracomm and the Senate blue ribbon committee have heard serious allegations and confessions from witnesses.
At the Senate, contractor couple Curlee and Sarah Discaya named several lawmakers who allegedly asked for and received kickbacks from infrastructure projects.
At the House investigation, former Bulacan assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez said Villanueva and Estrada brought funds to Bulacan’s first district for anomalous flood control projects and each received a 30-percent cut from the project cost.
The implicated lawmakers have all denied the allegations. —WITH REPORTS FROM TINA G. SANTOS AND GABRIEL PABICO LALU
