‘Zaldy’s Forbes Park house has five-floor vault’

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December 24, 2025 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — Resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co was building a house with a five-story basement at the exclusive Forbes Park subdivision in Makati City, allegedly to store large sums of money, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla revealed yesterday.

Remulla said authorities learned of the construction through their investigation, including documents submitted to the village association related to the house.

While basements are typically intended for parking vehicles, Remulla said they received information that Co planned to use the structure as a storage facility for money.

He noted that the basement was designed to be waterproof, a feature that could protect its contents in case of fire.

“To our knowledge, it was going to be used for storage of money, because fires go upwards so they put the money below, in the lowest point of the house,” Remulla said during a press conference at Camp Crame.

The interior secretary added that maintaining a five-level basement would be difficult, leading authorities to believe that Co intended to store cash there rather than deposit large amounts in banks, where transactions could be monitored.

Construction of the house was stalled after Co was implicated in anomalous flood control projects. He is believed to be hiding in Portugal, where he reportedly holds a passport.

Remulla said the house is among Co’s properties that will be subjected to civil forfeiture in favor of the government.

Apart from canceling Co’s passport, Remulla said the government is also exploring other legal options to arrest the former lawmaker.

P20 million from Syms

In a separate development, private contractor Sally Santos turned over a total of P20 million in cash to the Department of Justice as part of her commitment to restitute the government for her involvement in the alleged flood control scam.

DOJ spokesman Raphael Niccolo Martinez said Santos, of Syms Construction Trading, delivered P15 million on Dec. 22, in addition to the P5 million she turned over on Dec. 4.

The P20 million has already been deposited with the Land Bank of the Philippines, Martinez said.

“The final amount to be surrendered will be equivalent to the royalty fees Sally Santos received from the Hiram Lisensya scheme,” he added.

Santos is facing five cases before the DOJ for her alleged involvement in “ghost” flood control projects in Bulacan, particularly in the towns of Pandi and Balagtas.

The charges include malversation of public funds through falsification under Article 217 in relation to Article 171, paragraph 4 of the Revised Penal Code; perjury under Article 183 of the RPC and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

She has also been charged by the Bureau of Internal Revenue with tax evasion involving P14 million. —Daphne Galvez