BOC to expedite forfeiture of Zaldy Co's alleged luxury vehicles soon — official

The Bureau of Customs (BOC) will expedite the forfeiture of the luxury vehicles linked to former Ako-Bicol Party-List Representative Zaldy Co and others, an official said Thursday.

“I just talked to Customs. They’re processing the documentation for these vehicles,” ICI Technical Working Group and Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center Executive Director Aboy Paraiso said.

“Ang nagiging problema po kasi ng ICI, the custody of these vehicles being exposed to the elements. Baka na de-devalue,” he added.

(The problem of the ICI is that these vehicles are being exposed to the elements. They may be devalued.)

He said that the BOC is looking to expedite the forfeiture proceedings.

Should the register owners fail to reply, the luxury vehicles will be forfeited and may be sold, according to Paraiso.

In January, authorities seized several luxury vehicles linked to Co, who is facing  malversation and graft charges filed against him over a P289 million substandard road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.

The CIDG-NCR said that the cars were registered under various entities, including the Sunwest Construction, which was co-founded by Co, and some vehicles were registered under the name of Co’s wife. 

Based on the apostille attached to his petition, Co was in Stockholm, Sweden on January 15. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the government will coordinate with Swedish authorities. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News