EDITORIAL - Bring back Zaldy

Since last year, government officials have been saying that Elizaldy Co is believed to be in Portugal.

Co, who resigned as Ako Bicol party-list representative instead of facing the serious corruption allegations against him, reportedly holds a Portuguese passport. If this is the case, the government must show that it is carrying out a more earnest effort to bring Co back to the Philippines.

If Co is truly hiding out in Portugal, having no extradition treaty with that country is no excuse. The Philippines has extradition treaties with only 11 countries plus Hong Kong, but the government managed to work with Timor-Leste to have Arnolfo Teves Jr. deported in May last year.

Teves, who had been seeking asylum in Timor-Leste, was deemed by that country as a threat to national security and hindrance to its membership bid in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

ASEAN member Indonesia, with which the Philippines has an extradition treaty, deported fugitive Bamban mayor Alice Guo to Manila in September 2024.

The Philippines can work with Portugal as well as the European Union to have Co deported. Cooperation need not wait for an extradition treaty, which could take years to finalize. Apart from seeking deportation, both the Philippines and Portugal are member states of the UN Convention Against Corruption.

UNCAC, a legally binding UN convention, can be invoked by the Philippines in the manhunt for Co. There is also the International Criminal Police Organization, with 196 member states who are committed to cooperate in law enforcement matters. The government has sought an Interpol red notice for Co.

Bringing Co back will give a much needed boost to the credibility of the Marcos administration’s anti-corruption crackdown, which has been slipping since the promise of an unhappy Christmas for the big fish failed to materialize.

Co is not only tagged as one of the “cong-tractors,” but also played a critical role in producing the annual national budget, having chaired the committee on appropriations since the start of the Marcos administration.

The 2025 General Appropriations Act has been dubbed as “the most corrupt budget ever,” while the 2024 GAA gained notoriety for the rider inserted during the bicameral conference, which ordered the impounding of supposed excess funds of all government corporations to finance the new congressional pork barrel, the unprogrammed appropriations.

Co can tell the nation whose bright idea the budgeting acrobatics were. People who want the big fish caught say accountability in the budget scandal cannot stop at Co’s doorstep. They say former House speaker Martin Romualdez bears the ultimate responsibility along with his cousin President Marcos himself, for signing the GAAs.

Both Romualdez and Malacañang have disputed this. They can make a stronger point if Co can be brought back.