The Philippine government is coordinating with Portugal to help bring former lawmaker Zaldy Co back to the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.
Co is facing a malversation of public funds case over an anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro, but Marcos explained that Philippine police cannot arrest him while he remains abroad.
“You cannot bring him home because that’s just not the way it works. We have to ask the assistance of the country where he is in, which is presently Portugal,” Marcos said in his post-New York working visit briefing on Tuesday, March 10 (New York time).
Local police, he noted, have no jurisdiction outside Philippine territory, making cooperation with the host country essential. He assured, however, that efforts are ongoing to secure Co’s return.
“So that is what we have done. Naglagay na tayo ng red notice sa Interpol at patuloy ang ating ugnayan sa mga Portuguese authorities na pauwiin na siya,” Marcos said.
He further explained: “You do not send your own police to go and pick him up kasi wala namang jurisdiction ang police doon sa kung saan ‘yung ibang bansa. So, they cannot arrest anyone. So, it will have to be with the assistance of the hosting country.”
Last month, Malacañang said that pursuing the former congressman remains a task shared by law enforcement and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In early December last year, Co’s Philippine passport was cancelled in an effort to prevent him from evading authorities over corruption allegations linked to flood control anomalies.
He was, however, suspected of carrying a Portuguese passport.
The former congressman was among 16 individuals charged in connection with the anomalous flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
Since then, the government has urged overseas Filipinos to take a photo of him if they see him and report it to Philippine authorities. (Betheena Unite)
