Graft charges loom vs Zaldy Co in flood control scandal — Ombudsman
MANILA, Philippines — Ombudsman Boying Remulla said former Rep. Elizaldy Co will likely be among the lawmakers who will face criminal charges before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged flood control kickback scheme.
In an ambush interview on Friday, October 24, Remulla confirmed that House lawmakers will be among the respondents in the cases to be filed in connection with five ghost flood control projects.
As for senators, he said he has no word yet on whether any of them will face charges soon.
“Marami po. Maraming nakalagay po doon na kakasuhan. May congressman na kasama doon. Senators, hindi pa ako sigurado kung nandun na,” Remulla said. (There are many. There are a lot of names listed there who will be charged. There’s a congressman included. As for senators, I’m not yet sure if they’re already part of it.)
Most of the complaints filed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), with one recommended by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), named only DPWH officials and government contractors as respondents.
Co is the only lawmaker publicly identified so far. He resigned from Congress on September 29 after failing to comply with Speaker Bojie Dy’s order to return to the Philippines and face the allegations against him.
He, however, has since denied all claims, from manipulating the budget to seeking commissions from contractors in infrastructure projects.
Why Zaldy Co?
Remulla reminded reporters that Co was tagged by the ICI in alleged irregularities in a P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro, which makes him a most likely respondent in the cases to be filed.
The project was reportedly awarded to Sunwest Inc., a firm Co co-founded, while he served as House appropriations chair in 2024.
RELATED: ICI's first report: Charges sought vs Zaldy Co, execs over P289-M Mindoro project
Although Co divested his shares in May 2020, the independent body found he still maintains indirect ties to Sunwest through “beneficial ownership” in related entities.
Asked if the cases to be filed would include a request to cancel Co’s passport, Remulla said, “Yes, of course, that’s part of it.”
Freeze, suspension orders urgent
He added that what’s more crucial is enforcing freeze orders on the assets of the implicated officials.
The Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) revealed on Thursday that P5.2 billion in assets have already been frozen, following six orders issued by the Court of Appeals.
However, none of the freeze orders have exactly touched the many congressmen and senators accused of pocketing kickbacks from flood control projects, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Remulla said the Office of the Ombudsman is still evaluating around eight to 10 more cases, with the goal of filing them before the anti-graft court by November.
“‘Di na kagaya ng dati na snail paced. Talagang kailangan bilisan namin ito, kasi ganun naman dapat eh. Ang corruption matagal nang nangyayari ‘yan. The deadline is yesterday, sinasabi ko na,” he said. (It’s not like before when things moved at a snail’s pace. We really have to speed this up because that’s how it should be. Corruption has been happening for so long. The deadline is yesterday, that’s what I’m saying.)
Suspension orders are also in the pipeline for DPWH officials implicated in the corruption probe, but for lawmakers, the Ombudsman can only recommend their suspension.
“Kongresista, hindi natin pwede suspendihin yan… pero pwede po imbestigahan,” he said. (We can’t suspend lawmakers… but they can be investigated.)
This was the case of Sen. Joel Villanueva, whom former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales ordered suspended and dismissed in 2016 over a pork barrel case.
The Senate, however, never implemented the order, and it was later revealed that Remulla’s predecessor, Samuel Martires, had reversed it in 2019.
Apart from Co, Villanueva has also been accused of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects in Bulacan. Other lawmakers reportedly implicated include Sens. Jinggoy Estrada, Chiz Escudero, Rep. Martin Romualdez, and several district and party-list representatives.
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