NBI ready to facilitate Zaldy Co return, seeks DOJ guidance for next actions

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) is ready to be part of the efforts to facilitate the return of former Ako Bicol Party-List Representative Zaldy Co back to the country.

“We are always ready. There are a lot of instances na ang NBI ay naging parte na niyan. Kung maalala ninyo, nung si Alice Guo NBI ‘yung ano diyan, si Arnie Teves,” bureau director Melvin Matibag said Friday in an interview.

(We are always ready. There are a lot of instances where the NBI has already been part of that. If you recall, in the case of Alice Guo, it was the NBI involved there, as well as in the case of Arnie Teves.)

However, Matibag said they are still waiting for guidance from the Department of Justice.

“We will await of course with the direction that will be given to us by the DOJ. Para sa akin (for me), they should be the lead agency dito… of course, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs,” he said.

Co, the former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was arrested in Prague on Thursday evening.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has said that the government is coordinating with Czech authorities to arrange for his return. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Co is being held at an immigration detention facility.

The former lawmaker is facing charges of graft and malversation in connection with an alleged substandard P289 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

He has denied the allegations against him.

In March, the Sandiganbayan upheld its declaration that Co is a fugitive from justice. — BAP, GMA News