'I was prejudged': Zaldy Co to return but fears safety, fair trial

House Speaker Bojie Dy issued an ultimatum to Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co in a letter Friday, giving him only until Monday to return to the Philippines to face the ongoing investigation into the flood control anomalies.

The ultimatum follows Co’s letter to Dy regarding revoking his travel clearance, lamenting that it would deprive him of the “time needed for my medical care that I have long previously scheduled.”

Co also disputed speculations that he went into hiding, saying he intends to return to the Philippines to face his accusers, spouting “false claims” in a proper forum.

Recall that Dy revoked Co’s travel clearance on 18 September to compel him to return to the Philippines due to his alleged involvement in a kickback scheme in the flood control projects, which is now a subject of investigation.

Dy has given Co only 10 days to comply with the directive. Co is expected to return to the Philippines and report for work by 28 September.

Co left the country for the United States to seek “medical treatment,” but critics find the timing highly suspicious, as it followed the deepening investigation into the spurious multi-billion-peso flood control projects.

Unconfirmed reports state that Co is no longer in the US but in Madrid, Spain. The Department of Justice had already subjected the lawmaker to an immigration lookout bulletin to trace his whereabouts.

‘I was prejudged’

Co maintained his innocence but expressed apprehension about returning to the Philippines, citing the wave of public opinion turned against him.

“[T]he public and your good office have prejudged me. This is evident from, among others, the revocation of my approved travel clearance without even first requesting for an explanation from my side,” read Co’s letter to Dy dated 25 September.

The Bicolano lawmaker lamented that the “false, baseless, and politically-charged statements” made by his accusers in congressional investigations and in the media did nothing but further fuel public outrage against him.

“This has caused the public to condemn and prejudge me even though no complaint before the proper fora has been filed against me,” the letter further read.

In response, Dy explained that the revocation should not be construed as a prejudgment, but as a necessary opportunity to counter the allegations against Co in the proper avenue.

“We reiterate that the only proper way to address these matters is not through correspondence from abroad, but by returning, appearing at the proper forum, and answering the charges directly,” Dy told Co.

Co is facing an ethics complaint filed by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco at the House. He is also one of the lawmaker-respondents in a corruption complaint filed by the National Bureau of Investigation to the DOJ.

Co’s former construction firm, Sunwest Inc., was named one of the top 15 contractors that cornered P100 billion worth of government contracts nationwide from June 2022 to May this year.

A review of the list of flood control projects on the “Sumbong sa Pangulo” website showed that Sunwest had secured nearly 80 projects from 7 July 2022 to 1 May 2025, amounting to around P10 billion.

Co claimed he had long divested from the construction firm when he entered Congress in 2019, but official documents stated otherwise.

‘No flood control kickbacks’

Despite the grave accusations, Co vehemently denied receiving billions of kickbacks from the Department of Public Works and Highways’ flood mitigation projects, as alleged by big-time government contractor Curlee Discaya and his so-called former aide, Orly Guteza.

At a Senate hearing on Thursday, Guteza, who introduced himself as Co’s former security consultant and a surprise witness by Senator Rodante Marcoleta, claimed that he regularly delivered luggage stuffed with cash to Co and former speaker Martin Romualdez’s residence in Valle Verde 6, Pasig, and McKinley, Taguig, respectively.

Each luggage contains about P48 million worth of “basura” or a code for flood control kickbacks.

Romualdez also belied the accusations, calling it “pilit na pilit” (extremely forced), implying that Guteza was coached by Marcoleta.

Lawyer Petchie Rose Espera denied that she notarized Guteza’s affidavit, asserting that the notarial details “are falsified and unauthorized.”

‘Budget insertions’

On top of the flood control scandal, Co is also a central figure in the allegations of billions worth of insertions in this year’s budget, having chaired the House committee on appropriations in the previous Congress.

Tiangco accused Co of inserting P13.8 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act under the provinces of Abra, Bukidnon, Oriental Mindoro, and Sarangani, among others, primarily for flood control projects.

Co, however, dismissed it as “untrue,” contending that the bicameral conference committee’s report for the 2025 GAA was approved by both the House and the Senate.

The embattled solon also denied that he owns the ZC Victory Fishing Corp., which allegedly forced Agriculture Secretary Tiu Laurel Jr. to issue fish import permits to the firm despite the agency having a formula to follow.

“I made no such request and have nothing to do with this company. Upon verification, the ‘ZC’ stands for ‘Zamboanga City’, not ‘Zaldy Co’, as the politician tried to insinuate,” Co pointed out.

Nonetheless, Co expressed hope that he would be afforded due process when he returned to the country and that the Speaker would ensure his safety and that of his family.