Marilyn Cahatol

‘Face the warrant now’: Co, others tagged in flood control mess urged to surrender

A screengrab from a video released by former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co implicating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the insertion of P100-B worth of projects in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). (Courtesy of Zaldy Co)

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ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/176378650071919040101-ako-bicol-rep-zaldy-co-HO (1).jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="A screengrab from a video released by former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co implicating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the insertion of P100-B worth of projects in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). (Courtesy of Zaldy Co) "/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">A screengrab from a video released by former Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co implicating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the insertion of P100-B worth of projects in the General Appropriations Act (GAA). <em>(Courtesy of Zaldy Co) </em></span></span></span></div><p>MANILA (<strong>UPDATED</strong>) — The National Bureau of Investigation on Saturday urged former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and the other individuals involved in the flood control corruption controversy to surrender after <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/21/arrest-warrant-out-for-zaldy-co-others-tagged-in-flood-control-mess-marcos-jr-1635">warrants of arrest</a> were issued for them.</p><p>The Sandiganbayan issued the warrants for Co and more than a dozen others from Sunwest Corp. — a company that he founded — and from the Department of Public Works and Highways on Friday. </p><p>NBI Officer-in-Charge Angelito Magno said in a statement that Co and the others should turn themselves in “while surrender is still a choice and not a consequence.”  </p><p>He said the bureau is already working to find the subjects of the warrants.</p><p>“Sa batas, walang ‘later’-only comply or be compelled. Mas magaan ang proseso kapag kusang loob; mas mabigat kapag hinabol. Face the warrant now. Justice is calling-better to meet it than to run from it,” he added.</p><p>(In law, there is no ‘later’, only comply or be compelled. The process is lighter if the act is voluntary; it gets heavier after a chase. Face the warrant now. Justice is calling-better to meet it than to run from it.)</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>DILG</strong> </div><p>The Department of the Interior and Local Government, meanwhile, said it has instructed the Philippine National Police to implement the warrants properly and in full accordance with the law.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/21/pnp-confirms-warrants-have-been-issued-for-ex-lawmaker-zaldy-co-17-others-1847">PNP confirms warrants have been issued for ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co, 17 others</a></div><p>“The Department&#x27;s position is firm. Enforcement will not depend on personalities or politics. Anyone who is the subject of a lawful warrant will be apprehended,” they said.</p><p>In another statement, DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said that the PNP has already deployed tracker teams to implement the arrest warrant for Co and the others involved in the flood control scandal.</p><p>According to Remulla, the PNP tracker teams will visit all listed residences, review five months of video surveillance, and may seek a red notice and passport cancellation.  </p><p>A blue notice was issued against Co two months ago, Remulla also said. The  blue notice enables the Philippine government to track Co&#x27;s location abroad, including the US, Europe, Singapore, Spain, Portugal, and Japan.</p><p>Meanwhile, authorities are verifying whether Co&#x27;s golden visa in Portugal was acquired before or after the commission of the crimes, the DILG secretary said. </p><p>The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday also urged law enforcement agencies to &quot;execute these warrants without delay.&quot;</p><p>Co, who served as the House Appropriations Committee chair in the 19th Congress, left the country amid the exposé of the anomalous flood control projects inserted in the national budgets in the previous years.</p><p>Co denied the allegations and <a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/14/zaldy-co-breaks-silence-on-flood-control-mess-1214">alleged </a>that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., with former House speaker Martin Romualdez and former budget secretary Amenah Pangandaman, instructed him to insert P100 billion of infrastructure projects in the 2025 budget.</p><p>The Palace dismissed the allegations as “<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/14/-pure-hearsay-malaca-ang-disputes-zaldy-co-s-accusations-vs-marcos-pangandaman-1731">pure hearsay</a><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/14/-pure-hearsay-malaca-ang-disputes-zaldy-co-s-accusations-vs-marcos-pangandaman-1731"></a>” and pointed out “<a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/15/palace-zaldy-co-s-claims-are-inconsistent-contradictory-1828">inconsistencies</a>” between Co’s accusations and its supposed evidence.  </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ThOoME8TUcs?si=JbfsQd3fziOEbkK-" title="YouTube video player" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><br/></div>

<p>The National Bureau of Investigation on Saturday urged former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co and the other individuals involved in the flood control corruption issue to surrender and face the <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2025/11/21/arrest-warrant-out-for-zaldy-co-others-tagged-in-flood-control-mess-marcos-jr-1635">warrants of arrest</a> issued to them.</p>

The National Bureau of Investigation on Saturday urged former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co and the other individuals involved in the flood control corruption issue to surrender and face the warrants of arrest issued to them.