Two officials of Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., a firm allegedly owned by former Ako Bicol partylist congressman Zaldy Co, have expressed their intention to surrender after being included in an arrest warrant for graft and malversation charges linked to the anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
Police Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico, director of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), confirmed that the two Sunwest officials are among seven accused who remain at large.
Morico said the officials began sending surrender feelers after the warrant was issued and several co-accused were arrested.
He explained that while the officials hold high positions in the company, they are considered “dummies” without the financial means or legal support to defend themselves.
“There are back channels, and of course, they have no personal lawyers and apparently they were left on their own,” Morico noted, adding that fear and lack of resources prompted the officials to reach out to authorities.
A total of 16 people were charged in connection with the flood control project in Oriental Mindoro, including Co and local officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Nine were already under government custody, including top DPWH regional officials. The cases leveled against them are non-bailable.
Of the seven remaining accused, Morico said four of them are out of the country, including Co while the three, all of them connected to Sunwest, are in the country.
Of the four who are abroad, three of them are Sunwest officials while the remaining DPWH official was last monitored to be in Israel.
“We are closely coordinating with the Immigration. I think there is an effort also from the government to cancel their passports,” said Morico. (Aaron Recuenco)
