MANILA – In a bold escalation of the nationwide dragnet for resigned lawmaker Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla turned to the Filipino diaspora on Monday, urging overseas Pinoys to play citizen sleuth by snapping photos of the wanted man and sharing them with authorities or online to aid his capture. The plea, delivered during a Malacañang briefing, underscores a “whole-of-government” push to haul Co back from suspected hiding in Portugal, where he’s allegedly leveraging a golden visa and a Portuguese passport to evade justice amid explosive corruption allegations tied to billions in flood control kickbacks.
Co, the ex-Ako Bicol party-list rep and former House appropriations chair from 2022 to 2025, tops the hit list as the alleged mastermind of graft in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ (DPWH) P20-billion flood mitigation fiasco – a scandal riddled with substandard projects, ghost contracts, and shady dealings via his firm Sunwest Inc. The Sandiganbayan’s arrest warrant, one of seven issued for fugitives (with nine others in custody), paints him as a central shark in a sea of corruption that left communities vulnerable to monsoons while lining elite pockets. Fleeing in July under the guise of a medical procedure abroad, Co – now one of seven at large – claims his life and family’s are under threat, but Remulla dismissed the drama: “He’s not a victim; he’s a perpetrator.”
The international angle adds intrigue: Co is believed holed up in Portugal, possibly via a “golden visa” residency earned through a €500,000 investment years back, and using a Portuguese passport to dodge Philippine borders. No extradition treaty exists with Lisbon, complicating the chase, but Interpol’s blue notice – a global alert for info – is in play, with a red notice (arrest warrant) on the horizon. Remulla’s diaspora dispatch? A pragmatic pivot: “If you see him, take a picture and share it with us or post it online. We’re counting on every Filipino abroad.” The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is looped in, though Co’s Philippine passport remains uncancelled – a bureaucratic wrinkle Remulla aims to iron out swiftly.
This manhunt isn’t solo: The DILG’s tagging team includes the Ombudsman, DOJ, and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), with Remulla eyeing 37 arrests by Christmas as per President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s anti-graft vow. Two Sunwest execs – Consuelo Aldon, Noel Cao, and Anthony Ngo – are already sending surrender signals, per CIDG reports, but Co remains the white whale. Another fugitive, DPWH Mimaropa official Timojen Adiong Sacar, was last spotted in Israel, highlighting the global web of evasion.
For a nation still mopping up from floods and fury – with protests like Sunday’s Trillion Peso March demanding “jail the corrupt” – Remulla’s global call feels like a Hail Mary laced with hope. “We’re going after the sharks and whales, not the minnows,” he affirmed, promising Ombudsman cases and Sandiganbayan warrants to net the big fish. As the diaspora rallies, Co’s Portuguese perch might prove precarious – in the Philippines’ endless graft grapple, no corner of the world is far enough to flee the people’s gaze.