The Office of the Ombudsman is seeking the cancellation of former lawmaker Zaldy Co’s passport and the issuance of an Interpol red notice to facilitate his return to the Philippines. This comes a day after graft and malversation charges were filed against Co, several public works officials, and a construction firm over an allegedly “grossly” substandard road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said that once the court issues an arrest warrant, it can be used to request passport cancellation and trigger an Interpol alert.
“On the basis of that warrant, marami po tayong remedies. Pwede po tayong humingi sa korte na ikansela po ang passport ni Zaldy Co… ‘Pag na-cancel na po ‘yan, mas ma-limit na po ang kanyang galaw. Hindi na po siya makakabiyahe from one country to another,” Clavano told DZMM.
He added that international authorities can be tapped once the alert is issued.
“On top of that pwede rin po tayong humingi ng Interpol red notice, kung saan pwede nang actively hanapin si Ginoong Zaldy Co kung saan man siya…”
The Sandiganbayan raffled the cases on Wednesday as public anger continues to grow over “ghost infrastructure” schemes allegedly costing the government billions. Clavano said more cases are already under preliminary investigation, noting, “This is the first of many cases that will be filed in court.”