House scraps ethics complaint vs. Zaldy Co after his resignation

The House of Representatives will no longer pursue an ethics complaint filed against former Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co due to his resignation, Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III said on Monday.

The Speaker was referring to the ethics complaint filed by Navotas Representative Tobias Tiangco accusing Co of violating the Constitution, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, and House Rules over 2025 national budget insertions, receiving profit off government contractor Sunwest Inc., a company Co founded, as well as Co’s frequent absence in the House of Representatives.

“Since nag-resign na si Congressman Zaldy Co, wala nang karapatan ang Kongreso na maimbitahan siya sa Committee on Ethics,” Dy said in a press conference.

(Since Congressman Co has resigned, the House lost the right to make him face an ethics complaint.)

Dy earlier gave Co an ultimatum to return to the country by today, September 29, to face the allegations of receiving billions of kickbacks off flood control projects.

However, Dy said Co cannot escape the accusations against him forever.

“We have talked about the next steps to take,  to suspend him and eventually expel him if he continues to refuse to cooperate. But [now] it is up to the Department of Justice or ICI [to decide] on which charges are needed to be filed against him,” he said, referring to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure. 

Co earlier denied the allegations, saying he received no funds from Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects.

Before Co’s resignation, the ICI recommended the filing of graft and malversation charges against him and some Department of Public Works and Highways officials (DPWH) over their alleged links to the P289.5 million road dike project along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

Hosaka said the DPWH Region IV-B implemented the flood management project through contractor Sunwest Inc., which has historical links to Co, and that the government lost an estimated P63 million over the project due to materials being substandard and unaligned to required specifications based on the DPWH documents and inspection.

Other DPWH officials that the ICI want charged with criminal raps included in the referral were MIMAROPA Regional Director Gerald Pacanan, as well as Assistant Regional Directors Gene Ryan Altea and Ruben Santos Jr., and ten others.

In a separate statement, Tiangco echoed the Speaker’s take that Co’s resignation does not absolve the former Ako Bicol party-list representative of liability.

“Resignation is not accountability. What the Filipino people deserve is for him to face the music—umuwi siya dito sa Pilipinas, para sagutin ang lahat ng paratang sa kanya. Mas lalong hindi tama na siya pa ang magdidikta kung kailan siya uuwi sa ating bansa,” he said.

(He should come home and answer the allegations against him. And it is not right that he is the one dictating on us when he will come home.)

“By resigning and hiding abroad instead of answering the allegations, he is not just insulting our institutions, he is insulting the Filipino people. At kung hindi niya haharapin ang mga alegasyon, this can be interpreted as a tacit admission of guilt,” Tiangco added.

(If he continues to evade these allegations, this can be interpreted as a tacit admission of guilt.) — BM, GMA Integrated News