State prosecutors await arrest warrant for Zaldy Co

PROSECUTORS of the Office of the Ombudsman can seek the cancellation of Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co’s passport or ask for an Interpol red notice for the resigned congressman once the Sandiganbayan issues a warrant for his arrest.

Co, who is at the center of a widening bribery scandal, has been out of the country since July, after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. used his State of the Nation Address to call out contractors behind substandard or ghost flood control projects. His lawyer said Co, fearing for his life, has refused to return to the Philippines to answer the allegations that he accepted billions in kickbacks from these projects.

“On the basis of that warrant, we have many remedies. We can ask the court to cancel the passport of Zaldy Co. We can also ask for an Interpol red notice,” said Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano in an interview on radio DZMM.

Resigned Ako Bicol Party-list representative Elizaldy Co. PHOTO BY RENE H. DILAN

On Tuesday, the Ombudsman filed cases against Co and others including former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Mimaropa, before the anti-graft court.

They were charged with graft and malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents for a P289.49-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.

The Sandiganbayan on Wednesday raffled to three of its divisions the charges filed against Co in connection with the Oriental Mindoro project.

One count of graft charge, docketed as Case SB-25-CRM-0039, against Co and several DPWH officials, and the board of directors of Sunwest Corp., was raffled by the 5th Division, headed by Associate Justice Zaldy Trespeses.

The charge of malversation against Co and several others (SB-25-CRM-0041) was raffled to the 6th Division, chaired by Associate Justice Sarah Jane Fernandez.

Meanwhile, the other graft charge (SB-25-CRM-0040), only against Co for receiving “unwarranted financial or pecuniary benefits,” was raffled to the 7th Division, under Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier sought the urgent raffle of the cases to expedite the processing of criminal charges against individuals linked to anomalous flood control projects.

Meanwhile, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Co could no longer claim that certain companies’ actions are separate from his interests.

Co has been historically linked to Sunwest, a company he founded.

“We always understand companies as separate entities than people, but if it is used as a device to escape liability, then the court will step in and say that they can be one and the same person. That has been the result on many criminal enterprises, but it cannot happen anymore. I think the time is right for us to pierce the veil of corporate fiction and not allow their use as unlawful devices,” Remulla said in a press briefing.

He said he is also inclined to believe claims that certain DPWH undersecretaries acted in their personal interests by name-dropping the president in pushing for the insertions approved by Congress.

More cases coming

Dizon said on Wednesday that more criminal raps will be filed in the coming days before the Sandiganbayan against people linked to the anomalous flood control scandal.

“The Marcos administration is just starting. More cases will be filed. There will be no letup against those individuals who are linked to the flood control scandal,” added Dizon in reaction to the filing of corruption and malversation charges against Co and several others in connection with the alleged anomalous P289-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

(UPDATE) The criminal case against Co and company was the first to be filed before the Sandiganbayan since the president exposed in his State of the Nation Address in July the anomalous implementation of flood control projects across the country, amounting to trillions of pesos lost to corruption during the first three years alone of his administration.

Dizon said he believed the government has a solid or airtight case against the accused.

“That is the instruction of the president to the DPWH — to ensure that our cases are solid. We believe that we have a solid case. With these cases, we can easily convict the individuals we are now accusing,” he added.

Dizon also noted that the cases related to the flood control scam were moving much faster compared to the similarly controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam, allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, which was exposed in 2013 during the administration of the President Benigno Aquino III.

“In less than two months, charges were already filed before the Sandigabayan. We believe that arrest warrants will be issued in the coming days. With that, I think this is faster if you compare it with the PDAF scam of Janet Napoles,” he said.

Dizon said criminal charges will soon be filed against former DPWH officials and contractors linked to ghost and substandard flood control projects in Bulacan.

He reiterated that the president’s instruction is to recover public funds, file cases against those involved in the ghost and substandard flood control projects, and ensure that they would be locked up in jail soon.

“The Filipino people cannot afford to wait much longer. They want to see in jail those who pocketed the infrastructure funds,” he added.

Dizon earlier said that of the 8,000 inspected projects across the country, 421 were validated as ghost projects.

He said the province of Bulacan is the “most notorious” when it comes to ghost and anomalous projects, particularly in the DPWH-Bulacan 1st Engineering Office, where dismissed DPWH engineers Henry Alcantara, Brice Hernandez and Jaypee de Guzman were formerly assigned.

Among the ghost projects in Bulacan were the Revetment structure in Barangay San Roque, Baliuag (P92.689 million), and the flood control along Angat River in Pulilan (P92.71 million) — both awarded to SYMS Construction Trading; the riverbank protection structure (Package B) in Barangay Bagong Silang, Plaridel (P69.48 million), by Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.; and the riverwall in Barangay Pagala, Baliuag (P96.5 million), by Triple 8 Construction and Supply Inc.

The COA-Fraud Audit Office said these projects were declared fully completed and paid in full by the DPWH, but were found to be nonexistent.

Lookout bulletins

Also on Wednesday, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) asked the Department of Justice to issue immigration lookout bulletin orders (ILBOs) against 17 individuals in its ongoing investigation on anomalous flood control projects.

In a statement, ICI Chairman Andres Reyes Jr. said the requested ILBOs are in relation to the criminal cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan against Co, several officials of the DPWH in Mimaropa and key officers of the construction company Sunwest Inc.

Named in the request were DPWH 4B (Mimaropa) Director Gerald Pacanan, assistant regional directors Gene Altea and Ruben Santos Jr., Construction Division chief Dominic Serrano, project engineer Felisardo Casuno, materials engineer Timojen Sacar, Planning and Design chief Montrexis Tamayo, Maintenance Division chief Juliet Calvo, Quality Assurance chief Dennis Abagon, accountant Lerma Cayco, and Bids and Awards Committee members Grace Lopez and Friedrich Karl Camero.

An ILBO was also sought against Sunwest president Aderma Angelie Alcazar, and board of directors members Cesar Buenaventura, Consuelo Aldon, Noel Cao and Antonio Ngo.

An ILBO instructs immigration officers to closely monitor the travel of subject individuals, but does not prevent them from leaving the country.

“Given the seriousness of the charges and the ongoing proceedings, their participation remains essential, and there is a reasonable possibility that they may attempt to leave the country while the cases are pending,” Reyes said.

“The prompt issuance of an ILBO is, therefore, necessary to prevent potential obstruction, ensure continuity of the legal process and uphold the orderly conduct of related investigations.”

WITH PNA