Chalssea Kate Echegoyen

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)

Article (news)

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA (UPDATED)  - The Communication Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has declined to provide details on the reported arrest and detention of former Philippine congressman Zaldy Co.“We do not comment on individual cases,” the ministry said, responding briefly to an inquiry from ABS-CBN News.The Czech National Police has likewise refused to issue any statement on the matter.ABS-CBN News had sought information from Czech authorities regarding Co’s arrest, his place of detention, legal status, and the process governing his possible return to the Philippines.President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier announced that Co had been arrested and is currently detained in Prague after allegedly entering the Czech Republic without proper documentation.He added that the Philippine government is coordinating closely with Czech authorities to ensure legal procedures are followed and to facilitate Co’s return “at the soonest possible time.”Co, a former Ako Bicol party-list representative, is a central figure in a multibillion-peso flood control scandal that has rocked the Philippine government. He left the country in mid-2025 purportedly for medical treatment but failed to return after an investigation into anomalous infrastructure projects was launched.The controversy deepened after officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways tagged Co in alleged kickbacks from substandard or nonexistent flood control projects worth hundreds of billions of pesos.In December 2025, his Philippine passport was canceled, though he reportedly remained abroad using a foreign passport and a so-called golden visa from Portugal.By February 2026, the Sandiganbayan had declared him a fugitive following the filing of graft and malversation charges linked to a road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.The Philippine government had also coordinated with the International Criminal Police Organization to secure his arrest, amid complications stemming from the absence of an extradition treaty between the Philippines and Portugal, where Co was believed to have been staying.<div> </div><div> </div>

The Communication Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has declined to provide details on the reported arrest and detention of former Philippine congressman Zaldy Co.

The Communication Department of the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic has declined to provide details on the reported arrest and detention of former Philippine congressman Zaldy Co.

Czech officials mum on Zaldy Co arrest

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Czech officials mum on Zaldy Co arrest

Francis Orcio,

ABS-CBN News

Published April 17, 2026 06:54 PM PHT

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Updated April 17, 2026 07:24 PM PHT

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Zaldy Co

Czech Republic

DFA

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