Co challenges graft raps— all the way from Sweden
Former Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co has challenged—all the way from Sweden—a resolution issued by the Ombudsman that led to the filing of graft and malversation charges against him over one of the cases arising from the public works corruption scandal.
In a petition filed with the Supreme Court on Jan. 25 and which became public on Thursday, the resigned Ako Bicol party list representative dismissed the allegations as mere political “vendetta” and based on an “unproven conspiracy.”
Reported to be out of the country since mid-2025 and now considered a fugitive, Co asked the high court to issue a temporary restraining order or a writ of injunction against the action taken by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla in November.
The filing indicated that Co was in Stockholm at the time he was preparing his petition for certiorari.
The 55-page petition came with annexes hundreds of pages long. There was also a certification dated Jan. 15 that Co appeared before a notary public, Beatrice Gustafsson, in Stockholm.
Another document containing the verification and certification against forum shopping, which was signed by Co, also indicated that he was in the Swedish capital on Jan. 15 and held a passport valid until 2032.
There was no immediate response from Co’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain, to queries on Thursday regarding his client’s move to nullify the cases which are now with the Sandiganbayan antigraft court.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, the Ombudsman’s younger brother, said he would coordinate with European authorities to locate Co or at least restrict his movements.
The Philippine government will also have Co’s foreign passport red-flagged through the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), he said.
First set of cases
Co’s petition was in response to a set of criminal cases related to the flood control mess, the first to be filed with Sandiganbayan since the scandal broke out in August last year.
He and 17 other individuals, including officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), are accused of irregularities in connection with a P289.4-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. Co, who once chaired the powerful House committee on appropriations, was implicated because of his ties to Sunwest Inc., the project contractor.
The ex-lawmaker faces three arrest warrants. The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), the fact-finding body created by Malacañang to looked into public works anomalies, found the Naujan project not only “grossly substandard” but also covered up by “false certifications” that allowed payments to Sunwest.
The ICI noted that Co, despite his supposed divestment of his interests from Sunwest in 2019, retained “beneficial ownership” of the company.
Abuse of discretion
In his petition, Co said Ombudsman Remulla “gravely abused his discretion” when the latter, based on the ICI’s recommendation, conducted its own investigation and arrived at a finding of probable cause with “undue haste.”
Co said the Ombudsman filed the charges in court without properly notifying him or furnishing him copies of the case records.
“From the start, the Ombudsman and other government officials made their intentions clear—to file a nonbailable criminal case against Co as quickly as possible, in complete derogation of his right to due process,” the petition read.
“The Ombudsman’s public statements, coupled with the fact that it disregarded the ICI’s findings and proceeded to indict Co with insufficient evidence, shows his vendetta to indict Co … and take away decades of his life pending resolution of the case,” it added.
Canceled passport
In December, the Sandiganbayan ordered the cancellation of Co’s passport and formally declared him a fugitive from justice.
In another resolution issued in January, the antigraft court said that since Co remained “beyond the reach of the court,” he was not entitled to formally challenge court actions, such as the cancellation of his passport.
Pleadings filed by Co in relation to his criminal cases will not be entertained as long as he remains a fugitive from justice, it said.
At the time, Interior Secretary Remulla issued statements to the media saying Co may be in Portugal and using a Portuguese passport.
‘Disentitlement doctrine’
In November, in a decision issued by the Supreme Court pertaining to a different case, the tribunal ruled that “those who refuse to surrender and submit to the court’s jurisdiction should not be entitled to seek relief under the fugitive disentitlement doctrine.”
The high court noted that a fugitive from justice is “someone who not only flees after conviction to avoid punishment, but one who also flees after being charged to avoid prosecution.”
Co’s Jan. 25 petition argued that the fugitive disentitlement doctrine should not apply to his Sandiganbayan cases, saying:
‘’This case is not an appeal in a criminal case, but an original special civil action for certiorari. Co is not disentitled from exercising this remedy.”
The doctrine also doesn’t apply because “Judgment has not been rendered against Co, so he is not an appellant; neither is he an escapee or bail jumper.’’
According to Co, he was also “deprived of his right” to comment on the prosecutors’ motion to have him declared a fugitive, as he was not provided a copy of the motion. —WITH REPORTS FROM GABRYELLE DUMALAG, JASON SIGALES AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
Source: Inquirer Archives, sc.judiciary.gov.ph, pna.gov.ph
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