EDITORIAL - Hiding in plain sight

His passport was canceled last December. Earlier on Nov. 23, the Philippine government asked the International Criminal Police Organization to issue a red notice for fugitive former Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy Co.

Yet it seems Co continues to enjoy freedom of mobility. Last Jan. 25, his lawyers filed a petition before the Supreme Court, assailing his indictment by the Office of the Ombudsman for graft and the non-bailable malversation through falsification of public documents.

The petition was accompanied by an apostille or certification authenticating the court filing, which was notarized in Co’s presence on Jan. 15 by a notary public in Sweden.

All along, government officials had been saying that Co was most likely in Portugal, and that he is believed to hold a Portuguese passport. This story has been circulating for several months now. How hard is it to verify this through diplomatic channels and international law enforcement networks?

And how long does it take for the Interpol to process a request for a red notice? Typically, just three to four weeks, according to Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, who wondered why it was taking a long time for the Interpol to grant the request of the Philippine government for help in capturing one of the country’s most wanted fugitives.

The Interpol local office is located at Camp Crame, headquarters of the Philippine National Police, so coordination should not be a problem.

Tiangco suggested, perhaps partly in jest, that to follow up on the request for a red notice, the National Bureau of Investigation may have to go to The Hague in the Netherlands, where the Interpol headquarters is located, just across the street from the International Criminal Court main office.

Inevitably, these developments are fueling perceptions that Zaldy Co is hiding in plain sight – with the blessings of the Marcos administration.

This would tend to validate the video statements Co released last November. In one of the video clips, he alleged that he was set to return to the country after his medical leave in July last year, but was told to stay out by then House speaker Martin Romualdez, purportedly on orders of President Marcos.

The administration can still dispel this perception, by pressing the Interpol for a red notice, and working more vigorously with European authorities for help in apprehending Zaldy Co.