There are legal remedies available to bring resigned Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co back to the country once an arrest warrant is issued against him, according to Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, he stated that they requested a special raffle yesterday before the Sandiganbayan so that it could issue a warrant of arrest.
“When we filed yesterday, we had an urgent motion for a special raffle. Usually, the raffling is done every Friday, but we asked for a special raffle to be done today or tomorrow so that the Sandiganbayan can issue a warrant of arrest. We do not have the timeline because it is already with the Sandiganbayan,” he told DZMM in Filipino.
Yesterday, the Office of the Ombudsman filed the first case related to anomalous flood control projects with the anti-graft court.
On the basis of the warrant, among the available remedies are cancellation of Co’s passport and a “red notice” request.
“We can ask the court to cancel Zaldy Co’s passport because we are at the part of the process where we can ask for cancellation. Once that is canceled… he will no longer be able to travel from one country to another. We can also ask for a red notice where we actively search for Zaldy Co wherever he is,” said Clavano.
He added that it is the obligation of a country with an Interpol Red Notice to arrest a person and deport or extradite them.
Likewise, once the warrant has been served, he noted that respondents will be detained in the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
“The BJMP is a detention center, pre-conviction, so if a crime is non-bailable or a person has not yet filed bail in other bailable offenses, they will be detained there. After conviction, they will be transferred to the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) under the Department of Justice (DOJ).”
Clavano also shared that Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and the Supreme Court (SC) discussed the conduct of continuous trials to expedite the cases and avoid delaying tactics.
“The challenge here is, we know that the statements of the witnesses are half-truths and half-lies… Our challenge is to paint a picture that everything is really true,” he said.
He cited as an example the statements given by Co in his video, noting that it should be corroborated with evidence to uncover the truth.
“The public’s call is immediacy, but we need to balance it with the quality of the cases… We do not want the cases to just be dismissed when they reach the court. Our only accomplishment there is a headline that cases have been filed, but in reality, that is not true accountability,” he stressed.
Clavano underscored that the development is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call to file “airtight” cases against those involved in the anomalies.
