A PROSECUTION witness said Tuesday that former lawmaker Elizaldy Co received P802 million from the contracting company Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., even though he was said to have divested from it in 2019.
During the continuation on Tuesday of the trial of the malversation through falsification case filed against Co and several other people, the prosecution presented John Mark Busa, a financial investigator of the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC), as their last witness.
Busa told the court that the P802 million in transactions, such as bank deposits by Sunwest into Co’s account, occurred from 2019 to 2025.
The testimony indicates that Co, despite his divestment, was the beneficial owner of Sunwest, which links him to the P289.4 million road dike project that was found to have serious structural deficiencies.
The court has scheduled the initial presentation of defense evidence for June 2, 2026.
The trial involved nine of the accused in the case that the Office of the Ombudsman filed in November in connection with a road dike construction project in Oriental Mindoro.
Among the accused, Gerald Pacanan, Gene Ryan Altea, Ruben Santos Jr., Juliet Calvo, Dennis Abagon, Dominic Serrano, Montrexis Tamayo, Lerma Cayco, and Felisardo Casuno are in detention.
Co, who is at the center of the massive flood control bribery scandal, is still at large.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, meanwhile, said the red notice from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) against Co is “expected to be out this week or next week.” A red notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
Remulla said Co is hiding in Portugal, residing in a gated community in Lisbon and has long held a Portuguese passport.