Geline Salac

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Marcos Jr. confirms Zaldy Co in Portugal

Harlene Delgado

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17731801829681773180178992.jpeg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/> Former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co. House of Representatives/File</div><p>NEW YORK — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed Tuesday that former Congressman Zaldy Co is currently <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/22/zaldy-co-holed-up-in-lisbon-community-bantag-still-hiding-in-cordillera-2023">in Portugal</a> and that the government is working with local authorities to return him to the Philippines.</p><p>Co, who has been officially declared a <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/2/11/sandiganbayan-division-officially-declares-zaldy-co-a-fugitive-1943">fugitive from justice</a> by the Sandiganbayan, is believed to be hiding in Portugal.</p><p>“We have to ask for the assistance of the country where he is, which is presently Portugal. So that’s what we have done,”Marcos Jr. said in a press briefing on the last day of his working visit in New York, USA, Tuesday, March 10.</p><p>“Naglagay na tayo ng red notice sa Interpol at patuloy ang ating ugnayan sa Portuguese authorities na pauwiin na siya. That’s the process,” he added.</p><p>In February, the National Bureau of Investigation submitted the supplemental documents required by Interpol for the red notice request before its deadline.</p><p>Co, the former chairperson of the House of Representatives appropriations committee, is a central figure in the flood control scandal.</p><p>In November 2025, the former lawmaker released a series of recorded videos on his social media account implicating several high-ranking government officials, including Marcos Jr. and his cousin, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, in alleged kickbacks.</p><div> </div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/gFm7M9GWN5g?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oPrrneqgCh0?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed Tuesday that former Congressman Zaldy Co is currently <a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/nation/2026/1/22/zaldy-co-holed-up-in-lisbon-community-bantag-still-hiding-in-cordillera-2023">in Portugal</a> and that the government is working with local authorities to return him to the Philippines.</p>

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. confirmed Tuesday that former Congressman Zaldy Co is currently in Portugal and that the government is working with local authorities to return him to the Philippines.