Palace: Marcos’ info on fugitive Co was vetted
MALACAÑANG on Monday said President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.’s earlier announcement regarding a fugitive ex-lawmaker’s arrest in the Czech Republic was not premature and was based on carefully vetted information.
Former Party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” S. Co, who has been implicated in a multibillion-peso graft scandal, has not been arrested in Prague, Palace Press Officer Clarissa A. Castro said, though authorities there have only imposed restrictions on his movement.
“When we say that Zaldy Co has been ‘caught,’ it doesn’t necessarily mean an arrest. The term ‘caught’ is very general — it can also mean that he was stopped, restrained, or prevented from moving,” she told a briefing in Filipino.
“So, the President was not wrong in what he reported on April 16.”
She said Manila is honoring a confidentiality agreement with Prague, regarding on Mr. Co’s case.
Ms. Castro declined to give further details about the negotiations, saying Justice Secretary Fredderick A. Vida, who is currently in Prague, will share information.
Mr. Vida is set to return to Manila on April 30.
The clarification comes as the Department of Justice (DoJ) said the former lawmaker was “not technically arrested.”
“The term ‘arrest’ did not come from the President himself, but the DoJ also does not deny that Zaldy Co’s movements were restrained to a certain extent,” Ms. Castro said.
The former lawmaker faces graft and malversation charges over an alleged P289-million substandard flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, accusations he has denied.
In March, the Sandiganbayan affirmed its ruling declaring him a fugitive from justice. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana
