Rep. Co leaves for U.S. as flood probe heats up

Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co has left the country for the United States to seek “medical treatment” just as questions about his role in spurious multi-billion-peso flood control projects began to mount.

Confirmation of Co’s departure came Thursday from House spokesperson Princess Abante who told reporters the lawmaker had secured the necessary travel permit.

“Based on my initial inquiry at the Office of the House Secretary General, he is currently out of the country,” Abante said in a briefing. “I understand he is in the United States for medical treatment, with the appropriate travel documents.”

DAILY TRIBUNE had been seeking information on Co’s whereabouts since early August, with no response from his office.

Records showed Co was absent from the House from 28 July to 6 August, some days without prior notice. He later attended committee meetings from 11 to 27 August.

Co has been thrust into the spotlight since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. named the top 15 contractors that cornered flood control projects amounting to P100 billion from June 2022 to May 2025.

That figure represents nearly 20 percent of the entire P545.64-billion flood control budget under Marcos so far. Among the firms was Sunwest Inc., formerly Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, a company Co co-founded in 1997 in Albay.

The lawmaker has repeatedly said he divested his shares in Sunwest when he entered politics in 2019. But official documents and government lists suggested otherwise.

A review of the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” database, which tracks government projects, showed Sunwest bagged 76 flood control contracts worth billions of pesos between 7 July 2022 and 1 May 2025.

The firm’s biggest cluster of projects was in Romblon with 18, followed by 11 in Leyte and 10 in Camarines Sur. Other contracts were spread across Oriental Mindoro (9), Occidental Mindoro (7), Surigao del Sur (7), Albay (5), Marinduque (3), Catanduanes (2), Antique (2), Davao del Sur (1) and Guimaras (1).

Another company, Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corp., co-founded by Co’s brother Christopher, also landed 65 projects nationwide. Christopher Co, who once held the congressional seat his brother now occupies, was also among the founders of Sunwest. He likewise claimed to have divested when he became a legislator.

Heated exchanges

The first hearing of the House inquiry into the flood control projects erupted in heated exchanges Tuesday. Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice moved to summon Elizaldy Co and former senator Grace Poe, who co-chaired the bicameral conference committee (bicam) that finalized the 2025 national budget.

The bicam is under scrutiny for allegedly inserting funds into the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget.

From the P900 billion proposed in the National Expenditure Program, DPWH’s allocation swelled to P1.113 trillion after the bicam meetings, raising suspicions of insertions.

The final General Appropriations Act for 2025 was originally pegged at P6.352 trillion. President Marcos later vetoed P194 billion in questionable items, including P16.7 billion tagged as flood control projects under the DPWH. The law’s final form totaled P6.326 trillion.

Co, who chaired the powerful appropriations committee in the previous Congress, resigned from the post on 13 January, citing “pressing health concerns.”

His sudden departure, followed by his trip abroad, has fueled speculation that he was avoiding accountability as the probe intensifies.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, one of the sharpest critics of this year’s budget, backed Erice’s call to summon Co and presented what he described as evidence of budget manipulation.

He brought a flash drive he said contained proof of Co’s alleged role in the insertions. After a suspension of the hearing, Erice withdrew his motion but Tiangco insisted Co must still face questioning.

Free to talk

Meanwhile, Malacañang Press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro said Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong is free to testify before Congress if he is asked.

Rumors had swirled that Magalong would join the independent commission President Marcos is forming to look into the anomalies, but Castro said that only Marcos could decide on its composition.

“We cannot speak about that. It depends on the President whom he will appoint as members of the independent commission,” Castro told reporters, adding the President wants the commission to have subpoena powers.

“What the President wants for the independent commission is to be given strength, to be given teeth so that it can better implement the mandate of the independent commission. And the President wants the independent commission to have subpoena powers,” she said.

Castro also pointed to a possible role for the Anti-Money Laundering Council in probing the financial trail behind the anomalies.

“The AMLC, they can initiate an investigation. But they shouldn’t disclose how they would investigate because there might be movements among those who might be involved,” she said.

Senate expands probe

In the Senate, the Blue Ribbon Committee has expanded its inquiry, issuing subpoenas to compel the attendance of contractors and DPWH officials allegedly tied to the fraudulent projects.

Senate President Francis Escudero signed the subpoenas upon the recommendation of committee chair Senator Rodante Marcoleta.

Those ordered to appear on 8 September are Darcy Kimel D.J. Respicio of Darcy and Anna Builders and Trading; Sally N. Santos of SYMS Construction Trading; Pacifico F. Discaya II of Alpha and Omega General Contractor and Development Corporation; Maritoni P. Melegrito of Elite General Contractor and Development Corporation; and Edgardo Saggum of Eddmari Construction and Trading.

Also subpoenaed were three officials of the DPWH Bulacan 1st District Engineering Office: Jaypee D. Mendoza, Brice Ericson D. Hernandez and Juanito C. Mendoza.

A subpoena duces tecum was likewise issued to Commission on Audit Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba, requiring him to submit highlights of the fraud audit and the responses of those implicated.

The Senate opened its probe after reports surfaced that billions in public funds had been channeled into substandard or non-existent flood control projects, particularly in Metro Manila and Bulacan.

Many of the projects not only failed to mitigate floods but worsened the inundation in other areas.

Escudero, while vowing accountability, has faced questions about his involvement in the projects. He has admitted receiving P30 million in campaign contributions in 2022 from Lawrence Lubiano, president of Centerways Construction and Development Inc., one of the contractors named by Marcos. Lubiano insisted the donation came from his personal funds, not his company’s. Both men hail from Sorsogon.

Business groups react

As the inquiries widen, business groups have entered the fray. In a rare show of unity, 30 organizations led by the Management Association of the Philippines and the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry denounced the “shameful, unabated, continuing and excessive acts of graft and corruption” surrounding the flood control funds.

They called for the prosecution of officials involved and urged corrupt politicians to “have mercy on the poor.”