(UPDATE) THE government is confident that former congressman Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, one of the central figures in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, will be brought home, Malacañang said Thursday.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro issued the statement after Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida confirmed that he and Chief State Counsel Dennis Chan would fly to Prague, the Czech Republic, on Thursday to discuss with Czech authorities Co’s return.
Castro said the government’s next steps in securing the return of Co would depend on its coordination and agreement with the Czech Republic.
Asked how confident is the administration that Co will be brought back to the country after Vida’s trip, she said the government was “definitely confident.”
“Since other countries are involved, let us just hope that Zaldy Co will be brought back to our country soon,” Castro said during a Palace briefing.
The Department of Justice has said it was considering deportation, extradition or invoking the United Nations Convention Against Corruption — to which both the Philippines and the Czech Republic are signatories — as possible means to facilitate Co’s return.
Co is facing an arrest warrant for alleged malversation of public funds and graft in connection with a P289.5-million anomalous dike project in Oriental Mindoro.
He left the country in July last year, supposedly for medical treatment in the United States.
In September, the government revoked Co’s travel papers after he was implicated in budget insertions and anomalous flood control projects. He later resigned as Ako Bicol Party-list representative.
Co is being detained by Czech authorities after being flagged for illegal entry.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said Co’s return would follow due process and international legal procedures.
