Gov’t fails to secure Co, now says he’s in France
Fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co is now believed to be in France where he is seeking asylum, further complicating Philippine government efforts to bring him back to the country for criminal prosecution over his alleged role in the flood control corruption scandal.
Malacañang on Tuesday said Co was no longer in the Czech Republic, where he was briefly held by authorities in Prague for presenting invalid travel documents after attempting to cross the German border on April 16.
A “disappointed” President Marcos, who earlier announced Co’s detention in Prague on social media, has summoned the Czech and French ambassadors to discuss possible lapses committed by Philippine authorities, as well as the ways their governments may now help in securing Co.
In a briefing, Palace press officer Claire Castro said the President was dismayed because he thought “we are so close to bringing him home.”
“At present, according to the President, there is no one to blame because all the officials involved in determining what happened and assessing the conditions … performed their duties properly,” she said.
A team led by Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida left for the Czech Republic on April 23 on a mission to bring back Co, the former Ako Bicol party list representative who chaired the powerful House appropriations committee in the 19th Congress.
But in a briefing held at the Philippine Embassy in Prague past 12 a.m. Tuesday (Manila time), Vida delivered what he described as “difficult news”: “Czech authorities have confirmed to us that Mr. Zaldy Co is no longer in their custody.”
‘Reliable information’
Citing “highly reliable information” obtained by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Castro said Co now has a pending petition for political asylum in France.
When exactly did Co apply remained to be verified, but Castro said his petition cited “political persecution” as ground—an allegation vehemently denied by Malacañang.
“He has been requested to be transferred to and is now under the jurisdiction of French authorities,” Castro said. “All missions in Europe have been instructed to obtain further official confirmation.”
“The government’s position remains firm. We will work with foreign governments through every legal channel available under international law to bring Zaldy Co back home to face the graft and malversation cases filed against him,” she added.
According to Castro, President Marcos summoned French Ambassador Marie Fontanel and Czech Chargé d’Affaires Eva Tenzin to separate meetings in Malacañang on Wednesday.
“They will discuss what shortcomings there may have been, what should have been done, and what can still be done to bring Zaldy Co back to our country,” she said.
‘Nobody to blame except…’
For Sen. Panfilo Lacson, chair of the Senate blue ribbon committee that investigated the corruption scandal, “It was a lost opportunity and our government has nobody to blame except itself.”
“Failing to act with dispatch after having been timely informed of ex-Cong. Zaldy Co’s apprehension by the Czech authorities now puts the government in an embarrassing situation,” Lacson said.
“Government must now exert extra effort and work double time to bring him back not only to redeem itself from this lapse but to show its sincerity and seriousness in bringing Co and his coconspirators to justice,” he added.
Malacañang conceded that Co’s asylum request in France would again push back Philippine efforts to get him in custody.
Such applications are received and decided by the Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (Ofpra), or the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless People, an agency under the interior ministry.
Ofpra may take up to six months to reach a decision, but the process can be as short as 15 days in “accelerated” cases. On average, its processing time for asylum seekers in 2024 was 8.6 months, according to the office’s annual report.
Appeals are resolved by the Cour nationale du droit d’asile (National Asylum Court) and may delay the application process, bringing the duration to well beyond a year.
While the petition is pending, the applicant is barred from leaving France for another country within the Schengen zone without authorization.
No ‘cooperation’ pact
According to Vida, Co was released from Czech custody apparently because the Philippine government doesn’t have a “police cooperation agreement” with the European state and has yet to secure a red notice on the ex-lawmaker from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol).
A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person.
Hours after meeting with his Czech counterparts on Monday, Vida admitted being “confused” with the legal parameters of the European Union as many details about Co’s whereabouts remained unknown.
Vida said Czech authorities refused to provide specific details on Co’s status and possible destinations, citing “Schengen rules and data privacy programs.”
He recalled that the lack of a police cooperation agreement between the Philippines and the Czech Republic came up in their “lengthy discussion.”
“I cannot repeat [the rules] to you, but… they were pointing to a possible police cooperation agreement which we don’t have,’’ he said.
Such an accord is still undergoing negotiations between Manila and Prague, he added.
“ It appears, and I will definitely conclude… [that] they’re directing us to firm up on the police cooperation agreement,” he said. “It’s like they’re saying that: ‘If only we had that….”
Still no ‘red notice’ all along
In November last year, the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) applied for an Interpol red notice on Co. This was shortly after the Sandiganbayan issued warrants for his arrest in his graft and malversation cases over a flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
But when Vida arrived in Prague and held an online media briefing Friday night last week, he said the red-notice request had yet to be granted because more documents were still needed.
He said those documents—from the Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan—were expected to be sent by the PCTC only that weekend.
“I don’t want to say we fell short (in meeting the application requirements), but basically we double-backed. We did due diligence because it has yet to move,” the justice secretary explained. —WITH REPORTS FROM KEITH CLORES, TINA G. SANTOS AND INQUIRER RESEARCH
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