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Mark Ernest Villeza - The Philippine Star
December 13, 2025 | 12:00am
In this September 2023 photo, Rep. Elizaldy Co (Ako Bicol party-list) terminates the deliberation of the proposed budget of the Office of the President.
HREP
MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has requested the Interpol to issue a red notice against resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co.
NBI spokesman Palmer Mallari told The STAR yesterday that the bureau transmitted its request as early as Nov. 23.
“We forwarded it to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime and they were the ones that forwarded it to Interpol,” he said.
Mallari said the NBI checks daily for updates from the Interpol but has yet to receive feedback.
“Every day we verify with Interpol the notices. They will deliberate if they will approve or not,” he said.
He added that it is unclear whether the NBI will serve as lead arresting agency once a notice is issued.
“We cannot say if the NBI will be designated. If it turns out he is abroad, we will have to coordinate with Interpol. Our International Operations Division will handle the communication,” he said.
Once approved, a red notice is circulated among Interpol’s member-states to alert law enforcement agencies that a person is wanted based on a local arrest warrant.
The notice enables foreign authorities to locate and detain a fugitive under their immigration or criminal laws.
Co was declared a fugitive by the Sandiganbayan in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
In a Dec. 10 resolution, the Sandiganbayan ordered the cancellation of his passport.
Documents, cash seized
NBI agents on Thursday night recovered key documents and cash from three vaults inside Co’s Taguig condominium unit during an operation to enforce a search warrant tied to graft complaints.
Mallari confirmed on Friday that investigators obtained “plenty of documents” believed to be relevant to the probe into alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
He said the papers could be cross-referenced with evidence and witness statements already in the bureau’s possession. He said P10,000 in cash was also found during the raid.
He said agents are preparing the inventory sheet and post-operation report for submission to the Taguig Regional Trial Court, which issued the search warrant.
He stressed that procedures were properly observed when agents forced open the locked vaults, noting that lawyers, occupants and the building administrator were present. He also dismissed possible claims that evidence was planted.
Co and 16 others are facing malversation and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan over a P289-million substandard road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Luxury car
The Bureau of Customs (BOC) is now investigating the luxury car shown in the video exposé of Co after he alleged that President Marcos ordered the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects into the 2025 national budget during the bicameral conference committee last year.
BOC spokesman Chris Bendijo said the BOC is currently revalidating the records of importers, particularly Brilliance Auto Corp. and Zuccali Trading, after being linked to the importation of the gray Maserati.
Bendijo added the car may have been taken before the documents were completed.
“Meaning to say that the duties and taxes have not been paid yet, the attribute is not yet there and yet it is being temporarily and provisionally released to the consignee, and then eventually it will be registered,” Bendijo said over ABS-CBN.
During his video exposé, the Maserati was shown along with suitcases that were said to contain money that was allegedly sent to Marcos and former speaker Martin Romualdez in November last year. — Bella Cariaso, Jose Rodel Clapano
