Co slips through porous Europe

Former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co has slipped out of Czech custody and is now believed to be moving quietly across Europe’s open borders, exposing how little control Manila has once a fugitive enters the Schengen maze.

Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida confirmed at a late night press briefing in Prague that Czech authorities had informed the Philippine delegation that Co “is no longer in their custody,” barely days after he was stopped for carrying an expired passport.

Vida said Philippine officials are working with “actionable” intelligence that Co is somewhere within the 29-country Schengen zone, where internal border checks have been largely abolished and travel by land is seldom checked.

While the Department of Justice (DoJ) has applied for an Interpol red notice to alert foreign police, the secretary admitted the authorities can only say the corruption suspect is “within the Schengen area” without knowing in which country he is.

Despite dispatching a high-level four-man team from Manila, the government finds itself racing to catch up with a fugitive who may have already crossed several unguarded frontiers by car.

Vida said Czech officials cited Schengen protocols and data privacy rules in limiting what they could share about Co’s movements, underscoring that any arrest or deportation would ultimately depend on the laws and the cooperation of whichever European state he would be found in.

“From the moment we received information on his whereabouts, the Philippine government moved as quickly as it could. We coordinated with international authorities and the President dispatched this mission to Prague. But we are working across sovereign borders,” Vida said.

Co is believed to be traveling by land, taking advantage of the region’s minimal physical inspections at internal borders.

“Definitely, he is traveling by land. We also received information regarding the vehicle’s registry and the driver,” Vida said, although he declined to give further details due to an ongoing search operation.

Vida acknowledged a critical limitation. While it is known that Co is within the Schengen zone, his exact location cannot be pinpointed because of restrictions on sharing real-time data on movements between countries.

“What we can confirm is that he is within the Schengen area. That is the workable intel that we have,” he said.

“Every country has its own laws, processes, and timelines. And we cannot compel a foreign government to act outside its legal framework. What we can do is work within those frameworks as aggressively as the law allows,” he said.

Vida said the DoJ has applied for an Interpol red notice against Co.

“We are awaiting Interpol’s evaluation. Once issued, the red notice would enable any member country to detain and return Co through extradition or deportation,” he added.

Co was flagged by Czech authorities on 16 April while allegedly attempting to cross into Germany without proper documentation. He was carrying a passport that had expired on 11 September 2022.

According to Vida, Co had been issued three passports: an official passport from his time in Congress; a regular passport later canceled by Philippine authorities; and the expired passport found in his possession. Co’s canceled passport had originally been valid until 2032.

Philippine officials are now racing to track Co as he moves across land borders linking the Czech Republic to Germany, Austria, Poland and Slovakia — routes that are difficult to monitor due to the absence of routine checks.

Co is wanted in the Philippines on charges of corruption and malversation tied to an alleged ghost flood control project.

Meanwhile, Vida said the Czech government and the Philippine government “have agreed to begin formal negotiations on a mutual legal assistance treaty, an extradition treaty, and a transfer of sentenced persons agreement.”