By Robert B. Roque, Jr.
Since appearing in a damning video, implicating the highest names in government in what he claimed was a P100-billion web of budget insertions and ghost flood-control projects, it’s as if former congressman Zaldy Co has vanished into thin air once again.
As of the government’s own admission over the weekend, the Philippine embassy in Portugal has “no information” on the whereabouts of a former congressman whose passport has been revoked.
One day in November, he was on screen accusing no less than President Bongbong Marcos of allegedly ordering the budget insertions and expecting kickbacks. He named the President’s wife, his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, as the supposed mastermind and beneficiary, and dragged key Cabinet officials and Palace aides into a grand scam.
Co, who faces graft and malversation charges, and who is now the subject of a pending Interpol red notice, is probably the most wanted person in the country. But this is not just for criminal liability, but more for political reasons as the public continues to be enraged, demanding more forthright disclosure — or better, confessions! — from those accused in this mess.
Meantime, this administration and the agencies tasked to locate Co must use all the tools at their disposal to locate and bring him back. Senator Panfilo Lacson pointed out that the Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), a legally binding treaty that mandates cooperation among 191 countries to track, investigate, and prosecute corruption.
If Marcos is sincere in squeezing the truth out of Co, he can always activate the UNCAC to work as the global dragnet to bring this “whistleblower” home.
So, perhaps, the question now is not where Co is, but whether or not the state has the will to pursue accountability beyond its borders. There’s a revoked passport, a red notice, and a UN-backed treaty. Will the government use them decisively, or let Co and his story remain a myth?
And yet, the louder the hunt for Co grows, the quieter the questions become about someone who is very much here. I’m talking about scrutiny on the former House Speaker. Is it just me and buzzing bees in social media who’ve noticed, or is this government oddly muted when it comes to dealing with Rep. Romualdez?
In a Bilyonaryo interview, former lawmaker Jing Paras claimed that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) recommended the filing of plunder and graft cases against both Co and Romualdez. He also alleged that a witness’s sworn statement implicating Romualdez was altered — only for similar testimony, involving alleged deliveries of cash-filled luggage to Romualdez’s residence, to later surface before the Ombudsman. These are allegations, yes — but they are serious enough to merit full scrutiny.
Civil society group August Twenty-One Movement (ATOM) has been even more direct, warning that accountability collapses if Romualdez is spared while others are pursued. ATOM has openly challenged the administration to prove its sincerity by ensuring that no “big fish” is shielded.
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