Ombudsman seeks Interpol red notice for Zaldy Co

MANILA, Philippines —  The Sandiganbayan has raffled the cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against resigned lawmaker Zaldy Co and several officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region 4-B among the anti-graft court’s fifth, sixth and seventh divisions.

The ombudsman, meanwhile, will seek the assistance of the International Criminal Police Organization once the Sandiganbayan issues a warrant of arrest against Co, who is currently in an unknown country, Assistant Ombudsman Dominic Clavano III said over radio dzMM yesterday.

The Sandiganbayan’s sixth division will be handling the case of malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents under the Revised Penal Code; the fifth division the violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the seventh division the violation of Section 3 (h) of RA 3019.

Section 3 (e) of RA 3019 prohibits public officials from giving unwarranted benefits, advantage or preference to a private party or from causing any party, including the government, undue injury.

Section 3 (h) of RA 3019, on the other hand, prohibits a public official from directly or indirectly having financial or pecuniary interest in any business, contract or transaction with the government, in which he has the official capacity to intervene or in which he is prohibited by the Constitution or by any law from having any interest.

While the two graft cases are bailable, the prosecution panel of the ombudsman did not recommend any bail for the complex crime of malversation through falsification due to the amount of public funds involved.

“Because the amount malversed exceeds P8.8 million and in line with the law and jurisprudence, the panel of ombudsman prosecutors has recommended no bail for the malversation charge,” Clavano said in a statement read before the media on Tuesday.

The ombudsman’s prosecution panel also filed before the Sandiganbayan an urgent motion for the issuance of arrest warrants and hold departure orders (HDOs) against the respondents.

Under the Rules of Court, the court division chosen through a raffle to handle the case shall evaluate the case information and attached evidence submitted by the prosecution to determine whether there is probable cause for the issuance of arrest warrants and HDOs against the respondents.

The cases stemmed from the alleged substandard flood control project implemented by DPWH-Region 4-B in Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The project, with a total budget of P289.5 million, was awarded to contractor Sunwest Inc., supposedly co-owned by Co.

Once an arrest warrant is issued against Co, the ombudsman will immediately request for the cancellation of his passport and apply for issuance of red notice from the Interpol, Clavano said.

Discayas next

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said contractors Curlee and Sarah Discaya will be the next ones to be charged in court over the anomalous flood control projects.

At a press briefing, Remulla said the preliminary investigation into at least three cases involving the Discaya couple has been concluded and submitted for resolution.

Meanwhile, the agency is also investigating three former undersecretaries for money laundering – Adrian Bersamin (Office of the Executive Secretary); Trygve Olaivar (Department of Education) and Roberto Bernardo (DPWH).

In another development, Speaker Faustino Dy III said the government can make arrangements to guarantee Co's protection if he is really fearful for his safety.

Meanwhile, Batangas 1st District Rep. Leandro Leviste yesterday accused Construction Workers Solidarity party-list Rep. Edwin Gardiola of “pre-ordering” P20 billion worth of contracts from the DPWH even before the 2025 National Expenditure Program was submitted to the House of Representatives. –  Daphne Galvez, Rainier Allan Ronda, Delon Porcalla, Jose Rodel Clapano