President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed late Thursday the arrest in Prague of fugitive former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co after he allegedly crossed into the Czech Republic illegally.

“Zaldy Co had been caught,” Marcos said in Filipino in a Facebook post. “He is now detained in Prague after crossing into the Czech Republic without proper documentation and is currently in the custody of Czech authorities.”

“We are in close coordination with the Czech government to ensure that all legal processes are followed and to arrange for his return to the Philippines at the soonest possible time,” the President added.

The development triggered intense public reaction online, with speculation that Co’s return could serve as a tipping point in the controversy over alleged flood-control kickbacks that lapped at the very doorsteps of Malacañang.

Co has directly accused Marcos and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, of being the beneficiaries of billions of pesos in flood control project kickbacks, claiming he oversaw the distribution of cash packed in suitcases.

In November last year, the Sandiganbayan Sixth Division issued a warrant of arrest against Co for graft and malversation over an allegedly anomalous road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. By then, he had already left the country, prompting authorities to seek international assistance in capturing him.

Beyond the graft case, Co’s arrest intersects with a broader controversy that has drawn in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, which looked into alleged irregularities in infrastructure spending and the passage of the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

The budget, which included massive allocations for flood-control projects, has been tagged by critics as the “most corrupt budget ever,” with Co repeatedly linked to alleged insertions and realignments in funding.

The controversy first erupted in September 2025, when his former aide, ex-Marine Orly Regala Guteza, testified before the Senate.

Guteza alleged he handled “maleta ng basura,” or suitcases filled with cash, each containing about P48 million and marked with Post-it labels, which he said were delivered to properties linked to Co and Romualdez — forming what investigators described as a “bagman system” tied to floodcontrol projects.

The allegations escalated in November 2025 when Co, already abroad, released video statements claiming up to P100 billion in budget insertions, with P25 billion allegedly earmarked for Marcos.

He also claimed deliveries to Malacañang and Romualdez-linked residences and said he had faced threats as early as March 2025.

Co alleged cash drop-offs at a South Forbes Park property supposedly linked to Romualdez, with a nearby property allegedly tied to Marcos as the final destination. He claimed P1 billion was delivered in December 2024 and received by a Marcos-linked official.

The controversy widened in February 2026 when lawyer Levito Baligod presented 18 alleged former Marines — dubbed the “Brave 18” — who claimed to have acted as couriers delivering up to P805 billion in cash derived from project kickbacks.

Malacañang dismissed the allegations as “fake news” and later as part of a destabilization plot.

Despite the denials, the narrative from successive testimonies and Senate proceedings has pointed to an alleged cash-based system tied to infrastructure spending and budget insertions.

Co’s arrest now places him at the center of both a criminal case and a political storm, with his eventual return seen as pivotal to whether his allegations — and the questions surrounding the 2025 budget — will finally be tested in open proceedings or unravel under scrutiny.