EDITORIAL — Headless chickens

Since the flood control and budget corruption scandal erupted, Elizaldy Co has become among the nation’s most wanted. And from the start, the government gave the impression that the search for the resigned Ako Bicol party-list congressman is just for show. 

Recent developments are reinforcing these perceptions. Zaldy Co was accosted in the Czech Republic last week and held reportedly for insufficient travel documents.

In Manila, President Marcos himself announced in an online post that Co had been caught – “nahuli na” – in the Czech capital Prague and would be facing justice in the Philippines. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla subsequently said that Co could be back in the country within two to three weeks.  

A team led by no less than the secretary of justice flew quickly to Prague to pick up Co, only to announce shortly after the team’s arrival that the fugitive congressman might have already left the Czech Republic.

Pressed for an explanation, government officials said there was still no Red Notice issued by the International Criminal Police Organization for Co, who apparently was allowed to leave by the Czechs after he presented the necessary travel documents. 

The Philippine government supposedly sought the Red Notice from Interpol in November last year, but failed to submit the complete set of requisite documents. It’s not the first time that the Philippines has sought a Red Notice. With so many people in the public payroll, not a single person was tasked to verify the requirements for a Red Notice.

Both Co’s regular and diplomatic passports were canceled in December 2025 by the Department of Foreign Affairs on orders of the Sandiganbayan, while the old one expired in September 2022 and could not have been used by Co to leave the Czech Republic, the DFA clarified. 

Malacañang sought to distance the President from the fiasco, saying he did not announce that Co had been arrested, although native Filipino speakers would dispute this in translating “nahuli” into English.

The Palace also distanced itself from the statements of Jonvic Remulla on the likely timeline for Co’s forcible return to the country.

Harder to explain is why the justice secretary himself, Fredderick Vida, had to rush with a team to Prague without first ensuring that the person to be picked up was actually being held by the Czechs and would be turned over to Philippine authorities. Shouldn’t this have been coordinated first with Czech representatives in Manila, and the situation verified by the Philippine embassy in Prague?

The rushed trip by a top-level official is also galling because of the expenses incurred, at a time when the government is supposed to be strictly observing austerity measures amid the Middle East crisis. 

As of yesterday, Co was said to be applying for political asylum in France. With Philippine authorities running around like headless chickens, or worse, merely pretending to go after him, he might just get that asylum.