Former lawmaker and businessman Zaldy Co is no longer in the custody of Czech authorities, Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Fredderick Vida said Monday, April 28.
Vida announced the development in a press briefing in Prague, shortly after his team confirmed that Co had been released following his reported arrest on April 16—an incident earlier shared by President Marcos.
The Philippine delegation tasked to bring Co home admitted they were returning empty-handed.
“Czech authorities have informed us that Mr. Zaldy Co is no longer in their custody,” Vida said.
Despite efforts to repatriate a key figure in the multi-billion flood control controversy, Vida acknowledged that the government’s actions were not enough to compel Co’s return.
“From the moment we received information on his whereabouts, the Philippine government moved as quickly as we could. We coordinated with international authorities, and the President dispatched a mission to Prague,” he explained.
He stressed that the government must operate within the legal frameworks of other sovereign states. “We cannot compel a foreign government to go outside its legal framework. What we can do is act aggressively within that framework, as the laws allow,” Vida said.
So far, authorities believe Co remains somewhere in Europe.
Vida also defended the President’s earlier announcement of Co’s arrest.
“That was the information available—that he was here in the Czech Republic,” he said. (Aaron Recuenco)
