Speaker bares move to have Zaldy Co passport canceled
Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to cancel the passport of former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, who is being sought for his alleged involvement in anomalous public works projects.
In an interview on dzMM, Dy confirmed that he had sought the help of former Justice Secretary and now Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to restrict Co’s travel abroad following his resignation from the House of Representatives on Sept. 29.
“I told him (Remulla) that (if possible), let’s pursue the fastest way to cancel his passport to restrict his movements,” Dy said.
Co, who served as the House appropriations committee chair in the 19th Congress, is facing investigation over alleged irregularities in flood control projects linked to his company, Sunwest Inc.
He and former Speaker Martin Romualdez are also being accused of masterminding irregular insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and of receiving kickbacks from “ghost” and substandard projects.
Whereabouts unclear
Dy explained that while the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is the authority that formally cancels passports, the House sought the assistance of the DOJ since it oversees the Bureau of Immigration and can help expedite the coordination process.
If Co returns to the Philippines—voluntarily or otherwise—Dy said the case would likely be handled by the DOJ or the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which is now leading the investigation into the alleged public works anomalies.
In his last letter to the House before resigning, Co said he was leaving the country to seek medical treatment in the United States for an undisclosed condition.
However, Dy acknowledged receiving reports that Co might now be in Europe. His current whereabouts remain unclear.
Dy initially ordered Co to come home within 10 days in a Sept. 19 letter revoking his travel clearance, but Co instead decided to resign his post by Dy’s deadline.
Special division sought
Before Co stepped down, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco filed an ethics complaint against the former appropriations chair to compel him to address the allegations made against him.
Also on Friday, Remulla said he would like to see a special division created at the Sandiganbayan antigraft court that would try all cases related to flood control anomalies.
Remulla, who took his oath as Ombudsman on Thursday, said he would be meeting with Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Geraldine Faith Econg next week to ask that a “continuous trial” be conducted on such ‘’complicated’’ cases to minimize delays.
But Remulla said he wanted to review first the pending cases at the Ombudsman before deciding on the indictments against personalities being linked to the anomalies, among them engineers at the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and private contractors.
“The style that I really prefer is that when we file the case [at the Sandiganbayan], we are ready for trial,” Remulla said at his first press conference as Ombudsman.
Last month, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon filed complaints of graft and malversation through falsification against a number of DPWH engineers and contractors over faulty projects in the first district engineering office in Bulacan.
The National Bureau of Investigation recommended the same charges, but also included indirect bribery. The NBI also listed former and incumbent lawmakers, including Co, former Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and former Caloocan Rep. Mitzi Lim Cajayon-Uy, among the public officials it considered liable.
Fastest way possible
Remulla said most of the cases recommended by the NBI would be adopted depending on their gravity and how fast they could be processed.
“We will look at the way we want the cases to appear when we file them, because what we are looking for is the fastest process possible, what crimes we can charge against them,” he said.
