MANILA: Former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and 15 others with arrest warrants in relation to anomalous flood control projects have until Monday (Nov 24), to surrender themselves to law enforcement agencies, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Friday (Nov 21).
Remulla made the statement on the same day President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that there were now arrest warrants against Co and 17 others from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Sunwest Corporation in relation to the flood control mess in Mindoro.
Remulla said that he will come up with a memorandum order once he receives the copy of the arrest warrants. The Inquirer sought clarification from the secretary on the matter on Saturday but did not immediately get a response.
“If I receive the copy, I will come up with a memorandum and state that we are giving them until Monday to surrender to the nearest government agency,” Remulla said in an interview with dzMM Teleradyo.
“Otherwise, we will hunt them down. We will do everything we can for them to face the law,” Remulla added.
Meanwhile, when asked how the law enforcement agencies will implement the arrest warrant against Co as he is abroad, Remulla said he did not discount the possibility that the former lawmaker may be in the country through a “back door.”
Remulla noted that based on the DILG’s tracking, Co was in Japan last Monday but later went to China and may have returned to Europe as of Thursday.
“We will go to his known address, serve the warrant and inspect his house. We will search his businesses to check if he is there… otherwise, we will send a notice to Interpol to arrest him,” Remulla added.
The Interpol facilitates police cooperation from its 196 member countries. According to the Interpol, a red notice “is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.”
Last week, Co released a video statement where he alleged that Marcos and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, were masterminds behind the P100-billion insertion in the controversial 2025 national budget. Romualdez denied the allegations while the Palace described them as “hearsay.”
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure initially recommended filing charges against Co and 17 others.
However, two of them — Grace D. Lopez, a regular member of the Bids and Awards Committee (BAC), and BAC vice chairperson Friedrich Karl Camero — were not included in the arrest warrants issued by anti-graft court Sandiganbayan.
Marcos initially announced the issuance of arrest warrants against Co and 17 others. As a result, this brought down the list from 18 to 16.
The Sandiganbayan Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Divisions issued the arrest warrants against Co and the following in connection with graft and malversation cases linked to a substandard P289.5M river dike in Oriental Mindoro:
- Gerald Pacanan (Regional Director, DPWH – Region IV-B)
- Gene Ryan Alurin Altea (Assistant Regional Director, DPWH Region IV-B, now DPWH Bureau of Maintenance Director)
- Ruben delos Santos Santos Jr. (Assistant Regional Director, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Dominic Gregorio Serrano (Chief, Construction Division, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Juliet Cabungan Calvo (Chief, Maintenance Division, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Dennis Pelo Abagon (OIC-Chief, Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division; Regular Member, BAC, now OIC-Chief, Planning and Design Division, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Montrexis Tordecilla Tamayo (OIC-Chief, Planning and Design Division, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Lerma Dotado Cayco (Accountant IV, BAC, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Felisardo Sevare Casuno (Project Engineer III, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Timojen Adiong Sacar (Material Engineer, DPWH Region IV-B)
- Aderma Angelie D. Alcazar (President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)
- Cesar X. Buenaventura (Treasurer and Member of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)
- Consuelo Dayto Aldon (Member of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)
- Engr. Noel Yap Cao (Member of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)
- Anthony L. Ngo (Member of the Board of Directors, Sunwest Inc.)
Hold departure orders were also issued against these individuals, which will prevent them from leaving the Philippines. - Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN
