Another epic fail on the part of the Marcos Jr. administration — thanks to the premature and ill-advised manner of the announcement of the arrest and promised return of Zaldy Co to the Philippines to face charges connected to ghost flood control projects and his alleged involvement in misappropriations in the national budgets of 2023, 2024 and 2025.

No matter how many times PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro says otherwise, it won’t change the fact that the President jumped the gun on the arrest and impending return to the country of ex-Ako Bicol Partylist representative and chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations Zaldy Co.

And playing with semantics won’t help the Palace’s cause. Another instance where the caution to think before you click would’ve gone a long way.

We really shouldn’t be surprised since it’s not the first time the Marcos administration has found itself at the bottom of a hole it dug. They already caught a break with the random stop at the border that confirmed Zaldy Co’s precise location which had never been confirmed outside of speculation and rumored sightings. But no, they had to make the announcement just for the momentary “win” in the hopes of looking good before the public.

One step forward, several steps back.

At this point, the Palace’s credibility is shot. And because nothing good came out of all that premature celebration of Co’s arrest, the duty to deliver the very embarrassing and disappointing news that the former lawmaker was no longer in the custody of the Czech Republic but was again at large was left to acting SoJ Fredderick Vida.

Where is SILG Jonvic Remulla now that his pronouncements after the news broke that Zaldy Co could be home in 2-3 weeks has become impossible? And more importantly, how did the President react to the news and the realization that he will not be able to make good on his announcement that Zaldy Co was coming home soon.

Again, the Palace is in a frenzy to do damage control and distance the President from what now appears to be another PR blunder. There may be something to the whispers attributing the ill-advised manner and hasty announcement to a Cabinet member who appears to be personally interested and politically invested in the matter for May 2028.

What is certain is that the President should be more discerning and careful of his actions (and words). A matter as sensitive as announcing the arrest and return of a wanted former lawmaker should have been dealt with more strategically rather than optically.

I wonder if such a mistake would have happened were JPE still alive to impart his legal wisdom to the President. If only the President could find someone wise but devoid of all thoughts of personal gain to advise him instead of the present company he keeps.

That said, the Marcos Jr. administration can always hope that another issue will come up to distract the public from another humiliating and very publicized setback not only here at home but abroad.