(UPDATE) FUGITIVE and former congressman Zaldy Co is now seeking political asylum in France on the grounds of “political persecution,” Malacañang said Tuesday.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida, who is currently in Prague, had reported to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that Co was no longer under the custody of the Czech Republic.
“Based on their high-level engagements with officials of the Czech Republic and representatives of the European Union, it is clear that the steps being taken are anchored in respect for existing EU laws and those of their respective member states,” Castro said during a press conference.
“Such matters require a thorough diplomatic process and coordination at the highest level, and this is exactly what we have been doing since it was determined that he was being held by Czech authorities in connection with the use of invalid documentation. At present, it has been confirmed that Zaldy Co is no longer in the custody of the Czech authorities,” she added.
Citing a “highly reliable” information from the Department of Foreign Affairs, Castro said that Co has a pending petition for political asylum in France.
“He is now under the jurisdiction of French authorities,” Castro said.
“All missions in Europe have been instructed to obtain further official confirmation,” she added.
Castro said Co was claiming that he was being politically persecuted, which she denied.
The Palace official also said the President was “disappointed” when he learned that Co was no longer in Prague.
“He said... we should have brought Zaldy Co home soon,” she said.
But Castro maintained the government did what it could to bring Co back to the country.
She said the president has summoned the French ambassador to the Philippines and Czech charges d’affaires to a meeting in Malacañang on Wednesday, to discuss what the Philippines could have done and could still do to bring Co back to Manila.
“We will work with foreign governments through every legal channel available under international laws to bring Zaldy Co home and face the graft and malversation cases filed against him,” she said.
“We will do all of this following the law and the diplomatic process,” Castro added.
Co, who has been declared a fugitive and ordered arrested by the Sandiganbayan, was accosted by Czech authorities on April 16 for violating immigration laws.
Co, who chaired the House appropriations committee during Marcos’ first term, was charged by the Ombudsman in November 2025 with graft and nonbailable malversation over a multimillion-peso flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
He has been a fugitive since July 2025, when he left the Philippines purportedly for medical treatment in the United States.
In a briefing from Prague that lasted nearly an hour, Vida said Co’s release was confirmed during a high-level meeting with officials from the Czech Ministry of Justice, Interior, and Foreign Affairs.
“I have to share difficult news. Czech authorities have informed us that Mr. Co is no longer in their custody,” Vida said.
Vida said Czech authorities clarified that Co had previously been under their jurisdiction, but had already exited custody by the time Philippine officials arrived in Prague.
According to Vida, Czech officials pointed to the absence of an Interpol Red Notice as a critical factor behind Co’s release.
The Philippine government had filed an application for a Red Notice in November 2025, but Interpol has not yet issued it.
“A Red Notice would enable any member country to detain and return him through extradition or deportation. Without that, there are limitations,” Vida said.
Under Interpol rules, a Red Notice is not an arrest warrant but a request for law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally detain a subject pending extradition, subject to national law.
With no active notice, Philippine officials said Co is now believed to be moving freely within the Schengen Area, where internal borders between member states are largely unregulated.
Intelligence assessments suggest Co may have traveled by land after leaving Czech custody, potentially crossing into Germany, Austria, Poland, or Slovakia.
Authorities also said they had information on a vehicle and its driver allegedly linked to Co’s movements, but withheld further details, citing an ongoing operation.
Vida stressed that Czech authorities declined to provide key details on Co’s release, including the length of his custody, the exact circumstances of his exit, and his mode of travel, citing Schengen regulations and data privacy restrictions.
Vida also revealed that Co was found carrying an expired Philippine passport that had lapsed in September 2022 when he was accosted by Czech authorities.
He clarified that while Co’s valid Philippine passport had already been canceled and reported to international law enforcement agencies, the fugitive was still in possession of an older expired document.
Philippine officials acknowledged that enforcement within the Schengen Zone remains difficult in the absence of a Red Notice and a formal police cooperation agreement with Czech authorities.
Vida said Czech officials indicated that the lack of a bilateral police cooperation framework between Manila and Prague limited real-time intelligence sharing.
This prompted discussions on accelerating agreements on extradition, mutual legal assistance, and transfer of sentenced persons.
Vida also acknowledged that the president’s earlier announcement regarding Co’s apprehension in the Czech Republic had been premature.
“At that point, the fact available was that he was within Czech Republic and under their jurisdiction,” Vida said, adding that Philippine officials believed Co remained in Czech custody until shortly before the Prague meeting.
He said the government had relied initially on intelligence “listening posts” and operational sources, with formal confirmation from Czech authorities only provided during the recent dialogue.
Despite the setback, Philippine authorities said efforts to secure a Red Notice are ongoing.
Vida said additional documentation had been submitted to Interpol to strengthen the request, including case files from the Office of the Ombudsman, Commission on Audit, and Sandiganbayan proceedings.
The Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC), acting as the country’s Interpol National Central Bureau, said the revised submission was structured to meet Interpol requirements, including the principle of reciprocity, which requires that alleged offenses are punishable in both jurisdictions.
“We gathered all official records and explained the cases he is facing, aligning them with anti-corruption laws recognized in Europe,” said PCTC executive director Maj. Gen. Romeo Prestoza.
Prestoza said the updated filing was based on previous successful Interpol applications to ensure compliance with procedural standards.
Vida, however, clarified that the additional submission should not be interpreted as Interpol identifying deficiencies in the initial request.
Vida also disclosed broader institutional gaps exposed by the case, including limited manpower, legal resources, and coordination capacity within the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and its function as Interpol National Central Bureau.
He said these issues would be included in a comprehensive report to the president, along with proposals to strengthen international law enforcement coordination.
He is also expected to recommend faster negotiation of bilateral agreements with European counterparts.
Co is facing charges of corruption and malversation before the Sandiganbayan, filed by the Office of the Ombudsman in November 2025.
The case stemmed from an alleged P289-million ghost flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Also implicated in the case are officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 4B and executives of Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., based on case records submitted to the anti-graft court.
Vida said Philippine authorities remain confident that Co will eventually be located and held accountable, although he acknowledged the difficulty of tracking a fugitive in a region without internal border controls and without a Red Notice in place.
“This is not an easy task,” he said.
He said he will submit a full report to the President upon returning to Manila and coordinate next steps with the Department of the Interior and Local Government, the Philippine National Police, and international counterparts.
“There are many factors involved,” Vida said. “But we will pursue accountability through every legal channel available.”
Transparent
Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, urged the government to be more transparent on why Co was set free by Czech authorities.
“If there is no full information [by the government] or the information is sparse, people will speculate. They will be affected by different fake news because there is no detailed official announcement,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco was the first lawmaker to expose the involvement of Co’s construction firm, Sunwest, in flood control projects that were either nonexistent or substandard.
While he said that he appreciates the visit of Vida in Prague, Tiangco said that Filipino officials in Prague should have been more upfront on the situation of Co to prevent misinformation from happening.
Other lawmakers said it was frustrating to learn that Co is again at large.
“The administration officials should stop setting deadlines on when they will be able to catch big fish in this biggest corruption scandal in our history. Prove it and they should do immediately!” Mamamayang Liberal Rep. Leila de Lima said.
