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Daphne Galvez - The Philippine Star
April 2, 2026 | 12:00am
Zaldy Co
Zaldy Co / Philstar.com's screenshot
MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan has upheld its decision denying the plea to post bail of nine co-accused of lawmaker-turned-fugitive Zaldy Co in the Oriental Mindoro flood control malversation case.
In a 27-page resolution, the anti-graft court’s Sixth Division denied for lack of merit the motion for reconsideration filed by former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Mimaropa that sought to reverse the denial of their plea to post bail.
The court disagreed with the accused’s argument that the prosecution’s evidence failed to show conspiracy, saying that their acts of making their respective certifications, recommendations or approvals were done to release DPWH funds to Co-linked contractor Sunwest Inc., despite its failure to accomplish the works in compliance with the required specifications.
Denied bail were Gerald Pacanan, former regional director; Gene Ryan Altea, former assistant regional director; Ruben D.S. Santos, former assistant regional director; Dominic Serrano, former chief, construction division and bids and awards committee (BAC) chairman; Felisardo Casuno, former project engineer 3; Lerma Cayco, former accountant IV ; Dennis Abagon, former OIC-chief, quality assurance and hydrology division and regular member, BAC; Montrexis Tamayo, former planning and design division OIC, and Juliet Calvo, former maintenance division chief.
More prosecutors
Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Fredderick Vida reported significant improvements in case resolutions following the increase in the number of prosecutors since 2022.
From 2,883 prosecutors that made up the Department of Justice’s National Prosecution Service manpower in 2022, the figure rose to 3,025 in 2023, 3,240 in 2024 and 3,968 as of March 2026, he said in his 100-day accomplishment report on Tuesday. – Ghio Ong
