Fugitive Co seeking political asylum in France

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter

FORMER lawmaker turned fugitive Elizaldy “Zaldy” S. Co is seeking political asylum in France, Malacañang said on Tuesday, after a high-level Philippine delegation failed to bring him home from the Czech Republic.

Citing Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida and Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa P. Lazaro, Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said Mr. Co is under the jurisdiction of French authorities.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs has received highly reliable information that Zaldy Co has a pending petition for political asylum in France,” Ms. Castro told a news briefing. “He has been requested to be transferred to and is now under the jurisdiction of French authorities.”

The former Ako Bicol representative claimed he is being politically persecuted in the Philippines, said Ms. Castro, following his implication in a massive graft scandal involving flood mitigation projects.

Mr. Co, the former House Appropriations Committee chair, is wanted by the Sandiganbayan for his alleged hand in a multibillion-peso public works scam in the Philippines, an accusation he denied earlier.

On April 16, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. announced the resigned lawmaker was under Czech authorities for traveling with invalid documents, leading to the creation of the delegation, led by Mr. Vida.

Mr. Vida said in a virtual news briefing from Czech Republic on Monday that the Philippine mission arrived in Prague only to find the former lawmaker already exited the territory.

He said that the lack of a formal bilateral police cooperation agreement, combined with the Czech Republic’s strict adherence to individual rights and data privacy policies, prevented authorities from holding Mr. Co further or disclosing his exact point of departure.

Mr. Co is reportedly using a passport that expired on Sept. 11, 2022. While the Philippine government canceled his current passport, valid through 2032, Mr. Co was in possession of the older, expired document when he was originally accosted by authorities at the German border. The pursuit now hinges on securing an Interpol Red Notice, which has been pending since November.

Romeo C. Prestoza, executive director of the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime, said in the same virtual briefing that authorities are currently “double packing” the government’s submission to the Interpol Secretariat in Lyon, France.

He said this involves submitting voluminous records from the Office of the Ombudsman, the Commission on Audit, and the Sandiganbayan to establish “mutuality,” a requirement proving that Mr. Co’s alleged malversation and corruption are recognized as crimes under European legal standards.

He added both the Philippine and Czech governments have agreed to begin formal negotiations on an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty to prevent future jurisdictional escape.

The President was “disappointed” by the recent development, according to Ms. Castro.

“But since there are other countries involved and the only violation that appears to have been [committed] was the use of invalid documentation, the Czech Republic will be the one to decide what to do with Zaldy Co,” she added.

Mr. Marcos instructed all Philippine diplomatic missions in Europe to obtain further official confirmation on Mr. Co, who is still allowed to roam around the Schengen area, said Ms. Castro.

“The government’s position remains firm; we will work with foreign governments through every legal channel available under international laws to bring Zaldy Co home and face the graft and malversation cases filed against him,” Ms. Castro said in Filipino. “We will do everything in accordance with the law and the diplomatic process.”

Mr. Marcos is set to meet with French Ambassador to the Philippines Marie Fontanel and the Czech Chargé d’affaires Eva Tenzin on April 29.

“[They will discuss] whether we have any shortcomings or if there is anything that has not been done, so that we can be clearer about what else needs to be done and what other countries can help us with, especially since we have the so-called United Nations Convention Against Corruption,” Ms. Castro said.

“The President will just find out what else needs to be done because, to our knowledge, [and] to the President’s knowledge, everything that needs to be done has been done.”

Ms. Castro said the Philippines will respect the laws and policies of other countries, underscoring the importance of diplomatic procedures.

She said the President will not ask the French to block Mr. Co’s appeal for asylum as a sign of respect to the country.

Despite this, the President remains satisfied with his Cabinet members’ efforts regarding the former lawmaker’s case, as Interior Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla apologized for claiming a three-week deadline to bring Mr. Co home.

EXTRADITION TREATIES
Analysts said the development adds another layer of complexity to Mr. Co’s case.

Ederson DT. Tapia, a political science professor at the University of Makati, said the situation is not just about locating and returning an individual, but about engaging in legal processes that place Mr. Co under provisional protection while his claim is assessed.

“This introduces a different set of standards, one that requires the Philippine government to demonstrate that its case is grounded firmly in due process and not open to claims of political motivation,” he said via Facebook Messenger.

“It also means that any resolution will be slower and less within the direct control of Philippine authorities, reinforcing the point that earlier assertions of near-certain repatriation were, at best, premature,” he added.

Hansley A. Juliano, a political science lecturer at the Ateneo de Manila University, said the Department of Justice (DoJ) had gaps in its communications as to why Prague released Mr. Co.

“With the reveal of his flight to France, we now clearly have greater motivation to pursue extradition treaties with both countries, which one would presume should have enabled the Czech Republic to lock him down and would motivate France to give him to us,” he said via Facebook Messenger.

Mr. Juliano said the Marcos administration must assure the Filipinos that Mr. Co will be apprehended, adding that it must prepare for [counterproposals] that would claim his administration does not have the international clout and respect it claims.

“[The] lack of explanations on what happened/is happening will further spin and undermine international institutions and partner countries from the attacks of the Duterte machinery,” he added.

“Once again, the push for extradition agreements becomes urgent as part of bilateral activities.”

The 2025 flood control scam in the Philippines hampered the country’s economic growth due to weakening public and private confidence.

Mr. Marcos, in his fourth state address, exposed the alleged collusion between government officials and private contractors for kickbacks in infrastructure projects.

This led to various investigations, including the two branches of government, as well as the establishment of the now-defunct Independent Commission for Infrastructure to probe public work projects within the last decade.

LOST OPPORTUNITY
Meanwhile, Senators on Tuesday flagged lapses in the government’s move to bring Mr. Co back to the Philippines, with Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo M. Lacson saying it was a “lost opportunity.”

“Our government has nobody to blame except itself,” Mr. Lacson said. “Failing to act with dispatch after having been timely informed of ex Cong Zaldy Co’s apprehension by the Czech authorities now puts the government in an embarrassing situation.”

Senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito said that the Czech Republic’s Embassy to the Philippines should have provided information on the fugitive’s whereabouts before Mr. Vida flew to Prague.

“At first, we were excited because it was a breakthrough because he was considered as one of the main proponents of the floodgates scandal. So this is a big setback,” he told reporters in a mix of English and Filipino.

Separately, Senator Sherwin T. Gatchalian suggested alerting the Interpol for a red notice issue to apprehend Mr. Co.

However, Mr. Gatchalian said the government should have cancelled the other two passports of Mr. Co to limit his movement, noting that the citizenship, passports, and visas of the former representative made his escape convenient in Europe.

“I believe this is a temporary setback. We can still make his world smaller by alerting the interpol,” he told reporters.

He added that the Europe has multiple jurisdictions where the fugitive may conveniently travel around by land, acknowledging that Mr. Co’s case is a complicated situation for the government. — with Erika Mae P. Sinaking and Kaela Patricia B. Gabriel