Czech Justice Ministry: No info yet about Zaldy Co, but now 'in contact' with police

PRAGUE – The Czech Ministry of Justice said it “has not yet received any information” about former Ako Bicol party list Representative Zaldy Co and his arrest by Czech authorities on Thursday.

“The Ministry of Justice has not yet received any information about the person in question. We are in contact with the police, who are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding this person,” the ministry spokesperson Markéta Andrová was quoted by Czech news website Seznam Zpravy as saying on Friday.

The Czech police and the Ministry of the Interior have told GMA News and Czech news outlets they would not comment.

Co was reportedly with his family when they were stopped and subjected to a random check at the border as they were entering Germany from the Czech Republic.

According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras" on Friday, a source said Co and his family were together in a car with French license plates and driven by a French driver when they went through the border check.

Germany’s more stringent border control, marked by temporary and random checks, was supposed to last only until the first week of April but was extended until September 15.

It was not clear who among his family was with Co but they were among those subjected to the random border checks by the German authorities. Without their travel documents, they were sent back to the Czech Republic.

How Co will be brought to the Philippines

On Friday, Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the former congressman is being held at an immigration detention facility after reportedly being classified as an undocumented foreign national.

Under Czech law, non-European Union (EU) foreigners without valid travel documents may face “administrative expulsion” or “termination of a foreigner’s stay” in the Czech Republic and in the Schengen Area.

The administrative expulsion of a foreign national is decided by the Czech police and also imposes an entry ban of up to 10 years. Such an individual will be issued a departure order, which specifies the period during which they must leave the territory.

Remulla said Co may be returned to the Philippines “within a week or within a month.”

To facilitate his return, the Philippines is pursuing two possible tracks: the issuance of an Interpol red notice and coordination with the Czech government for deportation.

GMA News is monitoring the announcements from the Czech ministries of the interior and justice regarding Co’s situation. —VBL, GMA News