Still ICI recommends graft raps; House drops ethics complaint
Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co resigned as member of the House of Representatives on Monday amid accusations of insertions in the national budget and alleged corruption in the implementation of flood-control projects.
Speaker Bojie Dy III accepted the resignation, and said the House will no longer pursue an ethics complaint filed against Co by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco.
“Since Congressman Co has resigned, the House lost the right to make him face an ethics complaint,” Dy said in a press conference Monday evening.
Co’s move, however, will not stop ongoing investigations into corrupt practices that led to substandard and even “ghost” flood-control projects.
But Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla said Co, whose current location remains unconfirmed, is not likely to return to the country amid his resignation.
“I don’t expect him (Co) to come home.. I mean the way that everything is right now – I don’t think he will just go home,” Remulla said.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure recommended on Monday the filing of graft and malversation raps against Co and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways over irregularities in a P290 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Remulla said a formal complaint has likewise been filed against Co before the DOJ, making him a person of interest.
‘We’re just looking at the affidavits… There is already a complaint before the DOJ and he’s already a person of interest as are the others,” the Justice chief said, adding that the department is completing its application for a blue notice from Interpol to monitor Co’s whereabouts.
The Philippine National Police on Monday also confirmed the Police Security and Protection Group (PSPG) has already recalled five cops assigned as security for Co.
In a press briefing at Camp Crame, PNP spokesperson Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said it was part of the standard operational procedures (SOP) of PSPG to recall the police when their VIP is out of the country.
Co flew to the United States last month for medical treatment. On Sept. 18, Dy formally revoked Co’s travel clearance and ordered him to return to the country within 10 days – or until yesterday.
According to reports, Co reportedly entered Singapore on Sept. 16 and departed on the 24th for Madrid, Spain.
In his letter to Dy dated Sept. 29, a copy of which the ex-solon posted on his Facebook page, Co cited what he described as an “evident denial of my right to due process of law” as among the reasons for his resignation.
He also cited “real, direct, grave and imminent threat” to his life and that of his family.
“I categorically deny these baseless accusations. I did not mastermind, tolerate or allow any supposed last-minute insertions and realignments in items in the 2025 General Appropriations Act…It is improbable, if now absolutely impossible, that I, on my own, could make any supposed ‘insertions’ without the knowledge or approval of both chambers of Congress.”
“The 2025 GAA was eventually signed into law by the President after what we, as members of the House of Representatives, understood to be a thorough scrutiny by His Excellency of each and every item to ensure that everything is in order,” Co said.
The ICI, for its part, recommended in its 32-page interim report submitted that the Ombudsman determine whether violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, Government Procurement Reform Act, and provisions of the Revised Penal Code, including malversation of public funds and falsification of documents, were committed in connection with the Oriental Mindoro flood-control project.
The filing is the first formal output of the ICI since it was created earlier this month under Executive Order No. 94 to investigate corruption in public infrastructure spending, particularly flood control programs that have reportedly drained billions of pesos from government coffers.
The project, which involved the construction of a road dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, was carried out by the DPWH Region IV-B (Mimaropa) with Sunwest Construction and Development Corp. as the contractor.
The commission’s report identified several DPWH officials as respondents, including Regional Director Gerald Pacanan, Assistant Regional Directors Gene Ryan Altea and Ruben Santos Jr., Construction Division Chief and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairperson Dominic Serrano, Project Engineer III Felisardo Casuno, Materials Engineer Timojen Sacar, OIC-Chief of the Planning and Design Division Montrexis Tamayo, Maintenance Division Chief Juliet Calvo, OIC-Chief of the Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division and BAC member Dennis Abagon, Accountant IV Lerma Cayco, BAC member Grace Lopez, and BAC Vice Chairperson Friedrich Karl Camero.
Also named in the complaint are key officials from Sunwest, including President and Board Chair Aderma Angelie Alcazar, Board Member and Treasurer Cesar Buenaventura, Board Members Consuelo Aldon, Engineer Noel Cao, and Anthony Ngo.
Investigators said their initial review revealed multiple irregularities, including procurement violations, questionable project documentation, and a possible conflict of interest involving the contractor and Co, who previously chaired the House appropriations committee.
It also cited corporate records that allegedly show links between Sunwest and Co, who has long been reported to have business interests in the company.
Editor’s Note: This is an updated article. Originally posted with the headline: “Zaldy Co resigns from House of Representatives”
