DOJ To Seek Interpol ‘Blue Notice’ Against Zaldy Co

Justice Secretary Crispin Remulla has directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to request from the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) a “blue notice” against Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co to track his whereabouts. 

“Yes, I confirm this. The SOJ (secretary of justice) has already given the instructions to apply for a Blue Notice from the Interpol through our local offices,” DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano told reporters via Viber on Friday, Sept. 26.

Clavano said Remulla’s directive was “based on the investigation of the Blue Ribbon committee as well as the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) recommendation to prosecute.” 

Color-coded notices from the Interpol are meant to enjoin law enforcement agencies of member-countries to cooperate and share critical information about individuals or groups facing investigation or prosecution.

A blue notice from the Interpol enjoins sharing of information about a person’s identity, location and activities, although it does not seek the person’s arrest or detention.

Remulla told reporters that the application for a blue notice is meant to notify the Interpol and its member-countries that Co is a “person of interest” and is now subject of criminal investigation. 

Remulla said this is in order for the DOJ to get information on Co’s whereabouts and how he is “going about his business.”  

Asked where Co might be, Remulla said his office is receiving information that the congressman is currently in Europe. 

“He is in Europe – Spain or France. A lot of text messages are coming in that he’s in France,” Remulla said. 

The DOJ confirmed that its National Prosecution Service (NPS) will be conducting a case buildup against Co and 20 other individuals upon the recommendation of the NBI that they be prosecuted for graft, direct bribery and malversation of public funds in connection with their alleged involvement in the multibillion-peso flood control anomaly.

Dismissed Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Bulacan First District Engineering Office assistant district engineer Brice Hernandez had testified during Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing that Co received about P1 billion in kickbacks from the flood control projects in the province.

Hernandez said Co’s kickbacks were delivered in cash, contained in 20 suitcases, at the basement parking of Co’s penthouse suite at Shangri-La Hotel in Taguig,

Dismissed DPWH Bulacan 1st DEO district engineer Henry Alcantara, meanwhile, testified that Co inserted in the national budget about P35 billion for the ghost flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.

Co reportedly left the country last August supposedly to seek medical treatment in the United States. Records from US Customs and Border Protection revealed the lawmaker arrived in New York City on Aug. 26 and left on Sept. 13. 

‘Return by Sept. 29’ 

Speaker Faustino Dy gave Co until Monday, Sept. 29, to return to the country and face all the allegations against him. 

“You have until Monday, Sept. 29, 2025 to comply with our directive. As we stressed in our Sept. 18, 2025 communication to you, failure to comply shall be construed as a refusal to subject yourself to the lawful processes of the House and will result in the initiation of appropriate disciplinary and legal actions,” Dy said in his letter to Co.

Dy assured Co that the House will coordinate with the proper authorities to secure his safety. He added that the only proper way for Co to address the allegations against him is not through correspondence from abroad, but by returning, appearing at the proper forum and answering the charges directly.

Co vows to return 

In his written reply, Co said he is more than willing to return to the country, but expressed concern about his and his family’s safety.

In a letter sent to Speaker Dy dated Sept. 25, Co said that he has every intention of returning to the country and he is also intent on belying the false claims made against him before the proper forum.  

“I received no funds in connection with DPWH projects. I hope that, when I return to the Philippines, I would be afforded due process and that you would ensure the safety of my family and me,” Co said.

“Yet, I am very much apprehensive about what awaits me should I return to the Philippines, given that the public and your good office have prejudged me. This is evident from, among others, the revocation of my approved travel clearance without even first requesting for an explanation from my side,” Co said.

He said the “false, baseless and politically charged statements” recently made against him in the Senate, the House of Representatives and the media have condemned him in the court of public opinion.

Co denied that he was the author of “insertions” in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) through the bicameral conference committee.

“The insinuations are, of course, untrue since the bicameral report and 2025 GAA were approved by the Houses of Congress at plenary sessions and following the collegial process,” he said.

‘Deeply ashamed’ son to Co: Come home

Ellis Co, son of the Ako Bicol party-list representative, has made a public appeal to his father to come home and face accountability amid controversies over alleged corruption in flood control projects.

The younger Co, who is also being called out online, has distanced himself from his father and condemned corruption in a statement posted on his Instagram account.

“I condemn corruption in all its forms. I understand the anger and disgust. The hate is More than valid. And for the past few weeks, I’ve been having an internal conflict between my morals and my family. I am only speaking out now because I needed the time to have a firm grasp of the situation,” he added.

“And though I try to separate myself from the affiliation, I won’t exclude myself from the conversation. I am deeply ashamed, and I wish for nothing but the truth to come out. There is no excuse. I firmly believe that anyone who is proven guilty of these crimes should be held accountable and should face the proper consequences,” he said.

“That includes my dad. I urge him to appear before the people and be accountable once and for all. I am not just speaking out against a politician; I am speaking out against my father. And if this decision gets me disowned, I would rather face that consequence than watch millions of people suffer from his actions,” the younger Co added.

Guteza story disputed

Meanwhile, two personal assistants affiliated with Co denied involvement in transporting suitcases purportedly laden with cash, as alleged by Orly Guteza, who claimed to have personally delivered large sums of cash in luggage to various residences of Co and former House speaker Martin Romualdez.

In separate sworn affidavits, Mark Bunagan and Allan Colesio refuted the testimony of Guteza on the alleged cash deliveries.

“I deny his statement that I was hired as a security consultant for Congressman Zaldy Co on Dec. 5, 2024. The truth is, we only worked together as personal assistants for other family members of Congressman Co from Feb. 1, 2025 until he stopped reporting for work in August 2025,” Bunagan stressed. Colesio confirmed this as well.

Both Bunagan and Colesio denied ever witnessing or participating in the alleged movement of cash. Both affiants also stressed that they were neither coerced nor compensated to issue their statements. They also expressed willingness to testify before the Senate or any court to corroborate their accounts.

DPWH drivers’ stories 

Two drivers of dismissed DPWH district engineer Alcantara were hired to delivered millions of alleged kickbacks from ghost or substandard flood control projects.

Andrei Balatbat and Christian Santiago were invited to Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing after their boss Alcantara testified deploying his drivers to deliver the kickbacks.

Balatbat said he delivered six to eight suitcases to a house in Valley Verde, Pasig but he denied knowing if it was the residence of Co.

Santiago said there were seven instances that he delivered up to 10 suitcases for transfer to another vehicle at a gas station along Dahlia Avenue in Fairview, Quezon City.

Alcantara said the Dahlia deliveries were for former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, who has also admitted to receiving kickbacks and delivering some to lawmakers.

Reassert relevance 

The House of Representatives needs to reassert its relevance by coming up with measures that would put a stop to the widespread corruption in the DPWH, Bacolod lone district Rep. Alfredo Abelardo Benitez said. 

“The people are waiting to see if our chamber can reassert its relevance and act not out of self-interest but for the people’s benefit. I sincerely hope that we can still find practicable solutions to address systemic corruption in our government,” Benitez said in a statement.

The lawmaker said that with the formation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure to investigate corruption in the DPWH, it is now up to Congress to create laws “armed with teeth sharp and long enough to bite through the thick skins of those among us who are involved in this shameful conspiracy.”

The lawmaker also said that the time has come to deliberate on the DPWH’s fate. He has questioned whether top-to-bottom reforms would be enough to stop systemic corruption in the agency, or if it had come to the point where its continued existence “has become untenable and we must dismantle and replace it altogether.” – With additional reports from Janvic Mateo, Jose Rodel Clapano and Marc Jayson Cayabyab