DFA now handling efforts to bring back fugitive ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co – Remulla

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is now handling efforts to secure the return of fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday.

Remulla clarified that the diplomatic channels and legal processes involved in Co’s possible return fall under the DFA’s jurisdiction, not the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

“That is no longer under me. That’s already with the DFA. They will take the necessary diplomatic steps to bring him back,” Remulla said in a radio interview Tuesday morning.

He added that Co has yet to be reported to Interpol, as such action would depend on the formal charges filed and the status of the case buildup.

“Not yet. We haven’t initiated that. It will depend on the charges that come out. We’ll see,” he said.

Co was traced to Stockholm, Sweden, after an apostille attached to a petition filed with the Supreme Court on 15 January bore his signature.

He is facing arrest warrants over alleged irregularities in a P289-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro involving his construction firm, Sunwest Corp.

Co and directors of Sunwest Corp., along with officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways, were charged with corruption and malversation of public funds before the Sandiganbayan. The Office of the Ombudsman filed the charges on 18 November 2025.