Supreme Court orders Ombudsman, ICI to reply to Zaldy Co claims
The Supreme Court has directed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to comment on fugitive former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co’s petition to junk the criminal charges filed against him over the P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
“The Supreme Court, without necessarily giving due course to the petition, directed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to comment within 10 days from notice on the petition for certiorari filed by Elizaldy S. Co, including his prayer for the issuance of a temporary restraining order,” the high court said in a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson.
In his petition, Co argued that the findings were issued with grave abuse of discretion and that his rights to due process were violated.
The Office of the Ombudsman, through Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, filed the first batch of cases against Co and several former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) before the Sandiganbayan last November, claiming anomalies in flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro.
Clavano said the cases stemmed from the project implemented by the DPWH through contractor Sunwest Inc.
Co and his co-respondents were accused of violations of Article 217 in relation to Article 171(4) of the Revised Penal Code (malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents), and Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No. 3019).
Case details
Co is also facing a separate graft charge for the allegedly anomalous construction of a road dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Oriental Mindoro.
Clavano revealed that the P289.5-million flood control project was found to have serious structural deficiencies, like the use of substandard steel sheet piles used for the road dike, as reported by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor.
Clavano said the findings point to a scheme that allowed unwarranted benefits, falsified technical data and misuse of public funds in the project.
Remulla said the Oriental Mindoro project, along with others in Bulacan, will be the basis of cases they will file before the Sandiganbayan.
These referrals and complaints stemmed from congressional inquiries that found several flood control projects to be nonexistent, allegedly due to collusion among lawmakers, private contractors and DPWH officials to embezzle billions of pesos in public funds.
The controversy gained national attention after President Marcos accused contractors and officials of corruption in his State of the Nation Address last July.
