Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Monday appealed to overseas Filipinos to help locate resigned Ako-Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who is now considered an international fugitive.
“Nakikiusap kami sa lahat ng mga Pilipino sa buong mundo na kung makita nila si Zaldy Co, kung puwede nilang picturan at ipost kaagad sa internet para may idea tayo kung nasaan siya,” Remulla said in a Malacañang press briefing.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier called on Co to return to the Philippines, assuring the public that the ongoing probe on flood control projects “will not lead to a disappointing conclusion.”
Co has been implicated in the country’s biggest corruption scandal involving ghost flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and alleged budget insertions in the House of Representatives.
Remulla said Co is believed to be in Portugal and is suspected of holding a Portuguese passport on top of another, adding that “doon ‘yung may complications tayo nang kaunti.”
He stressed that a whole-of-government approach is underway involving the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Ombudsman to secure “a satisfying outcome on the repatriation of Co.”
He said the details of Co’s repatriation are being ironed out by the DFA as part of the government’s ongoing coordination.
Remulla added that individuals linked to the ghost project scheme will face arrest once the Ombudsman issues warrants following its “critical protocols.”
“Capturing them is not the issue, they’re in the Philippines. Mahahanap ‘yan. It is the wheels of justice turning, and hinihintay natin,” he said.
He reiterated his earlier assurance that authorities are also closing in on “bigger fish” involved in the corruption controversy.
Meanwhile, the investigative body, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), launched its YouTube channel on Tuesday as part of its push for greater transparency in its upcoming hearings.