No court order yet on cancellation of Zaldy Co passport - DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Friday said it has yet to receive a court order instructing the agency to revoke the passport of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who left the country even before being implicated in the multi-billion-peso flood control corruption scandal.

In a statement, the DFA said it can only cancel Philippine passports issued to Filipino citizens "upon receipt of a court order issued by a competent Philippine court."

"This is pursuant to Sections 4 and 10 of RA 11983 or the New Philippine Passport Act. As of this time, the Department has not received such an order," the DFA said.

Warrants of arrest have been issued against Co and 17 others, including Public Works officials and those from Sunwest Corp., a private construction firm owned by the lawmaker accused of receiving large amounts of kickbacks from flood control projects. Co denied the allegations.

There are three grounds for denial, cancellation or restrictions of passport - if the passport holder is a fugitive from justice, when the holder has been convicted of a criminal offense, and when a passport was acquired fraudulently or was tampered with.

Co, who headed the House Appropriations Committee during the 19th Congress, resigned as a member of the House of Representatives following allegations of his involvement in widespread irregularities in government flood control projects. —LDF, GMA Integrated News