Still no court order to cancel Zaldy Co passport — DFA

The Department of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday reiterated that it has not received a court order directing the agency to revoke the passport of former lawmaker Zaldy Co, who fled the country after being implicated in massive government flood control anomalies.

"Under the New Passport Law, the DFA is authorized to cancel the passport of former Congressman Zaldy Co only upon receipt of a court order," Foreign Affairs spokesperson Angelica Escalona said, adding the agency "is committed to assist in the pursuit of justice by fully complying with all lawful processes."

"Once such court order is received, the DFA will carry out its mandate. This process is governed by established legal criteria and is not subject to arbitrary or political considerations," Escalona 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 has denied the allegations against him.

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.

Also on Wednesday, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla expressed hope Co will be arrested despite several challenges.

“Ako, hindi nawawalan ng pag-asa kasi maliit ang mundo at lalong maliit ang mundo niya,” Remulla told GTV’s Balitanghali in an interview.

(I don’t lose hope because the world is small and his world is even smaller.)

“Puwede siya magkamali, pwede tayong swertehin, pwede tayong through negotiations, pagbigyan tayo ng Portuguese government,” he added.

(He can make mistakes, we can get lucky, we can go through negotiations, the Portuguese government will grant our request.) — Michaela Del Callar/RSJ, GMA Integrated News