Amid the Flood Control Issue, Malacañang Speaks Anew on Zaldy Co Case
The Malacañang Palace insisted that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. did not use the term “arrested” when he gave an update about Zaldy Co.
As of this writing, there are still no further reports about Zaldy Co. Countless Filipinos call on the government to bring him home following the announcement of Pres. Bongbong Marcos that he is detained in Prague. The former Congressman is one of the government officials who were tagged in the supposed multi-billion flood control corruption.
Zaldy Co is one of the members of the House of Representatives who were mentioned in the flood control testimonies and were invited by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure or ICI in its flood control probe. The commission that was created upon an executive order conducted the following:
- Nine referrals, covering 65 implicated individuals, submitted to the Ombudsman, one of which was made with the Department of Public Works and Highways
- 66 individuals referred to the Department of Justice for the issuance of Immigration Lookout Bulletin Orders (ILBOs)
- 32 hearings covering 36 witnesses, including 20 legislators and five agency heads
- 16 site inspections nationwide
- 1,173 documents processed
- 6,692 bank accounts of implicated individuals frozen or subjected to freeze orders
- P24.7 billion worth of assets seized, preserved, frozen or surrendered, according to the Anti-Money Laundering Council. This includes 229 vehicles, 394 insurance policies, 161 real properties, 16 e-wallet accounts and 10 air assets
- Eight inter-agency coordination meetings conducted and six legislative sessions attended
- Three hearings livestreamed
The operation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure ended in March. It turned over the flood control documents to the Ombudsman and the Department of Justice. Recently, the DOJ announced that Zaldy Co was “not technically arrested” by the Czech authorities.
“For analogy, it’s similar to a situation in the airport where the person arrives and immigration denies entry or excludes the person. Technically, not arrested but there is a deprivation of liberty to a certain degree,” DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said.
Following the remarks of the DOJ, Malacañang denied that Pres. Bongbong Marcos said Zaldy Co was arrested in Prague. Recently, Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro spoke anew on the said announcement of the former Congressman.
Based on News5, Malacañang press officer Usec. Claire Castro defended Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. anew on his announcement over Zaldy Co. According to the Palace official, there was a difference on the terms used by the Philippine President and the Czech Republic.
“Iba po ang terminong ginamit ng Czech Republic… Sa atin po kasi, ‘pag sinabing nahuli, naaresto… Kung may pagkakaiba man po sa terminolohiya, igagalang po natin ang nais nila,” Castro said.
The Malacañang official further expressed that Marcos Jr. is supposedly careful in his words. Based on the post, she stressed that the term “arrested” should not be blamed on the President.
“Maingat po ang Pangulo sa pagbibigay ng anunsyo sa taumbayan. Kaya ‘wag ipahid sa Pangulo ang salitang ‘aresto’ dahil hindi po ‘yan ginamit,” the Palace official said.
Recently, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairman Ping Lacson said he plans to invite both Zaldy Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the flood control probe. The authorities recently denied the request of Romualdez to be allowed to travel to Singapore.
The former House Speaker is also one of the government officials tagged in the flood control mess. Following the refusal of his travel, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez gave a warning to the Marcos Jr. administration.
