Co Insulting The Filipino People, Resignation Is Not Accountability – Tiangco

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco maintained on Monday, Sept. 29, it was not enough for Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co to resign as a member of the House of Representatives amid the flood control mess.

“Resignation is not accountability. What the Filipino people deserve is for him to face the music – umuwi siya dito sa Pilipinas, para sagutin ang lahat ng paratang sa kanya,” Tiangco said in a statement.

Tiangco added Co’s resignation would not resolve allegations that Co was responsible for the insertions in the 2025 national budget and received kickbacks from flood control projects.

“By resigning and hiding abroad instead of answering the allegations, he is not just insulting our institutions, he is insulting the Filipino people,” Tiangco stressed.

Not coming home

Hours before Co submitted his resignation, Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla expressed pessimism about Co’s return to the country.

“The way that everything is right now, I don’t think he goes home,” Remulla told reporters during his visit to the office of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) in Taguig on Monday.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has already requested the International Police Organization to issue a blue notice against Co, which will enable the Philippine government to “collect additional information about a person’s identity, location or activities in relation to a criminal investigation,” according to the Interpol website.

Co has been absent since the 20th Congress opened in July. He is said to be receiving medical treatment abroad.

One of the first acts of House Speaker Dy was to revoke Co’s travel clearance and direct him to return on or before Sept. 28.

Remulla said his agency has received tips from informants about Co’s whereabouts, but he emphasized that the lawmaker couldn’t be arrested because no court has issued a warrant against him.

Once the Interpol grants the blue notice request, “we will know where he’s going,” the DOJ chief explained.

In his letter to House Speaker Faustino Dy III last week, Co assured the House leader of “having every intention of returning to the Philippines,” yet he did not specify when.

Co admitted his apprehension that the public and Dy’s office have prejudged him over his alleged involvement in the flood control mess. He added that his medical procedures overseas have long been scheduled.

“I hope that when I return to the Philippines, I will be afforded due process and that you will ensure the safety of my family and me,” Co wrote.

According to the Philippine National Police, Co’s security detail, composed of 10 personnel from the Police Security and Protection Group, had been withdrawn after he left the country.

“The recall is automatic once the VIP is out of the country,” PNP public information office chief Brig. Gen. Randulf Tuaño said at a press briefing. He added that police are still verifying Co’s current whereabouts. – With EJ Macababbad, Mark Ernest Villeza