MANILA, Philippines – Humiling ang Office of the Ombudsman na maglabas ng red notice mula sa Interpol at kanselahin na rin ang pasaporte ni dating Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co.
Ayon kay Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, ang mga request na ito ay inihain na araw ng Martes, Nobyembre 18 kasama ang mga kaso laban kay Co at 17 iba pa.
“(The requests and cases were) filed yesterday… hopefully, (these) will be processed immediately to expedite the issuance of the arrest warrant. Then, once the arrest warrant is issued, we can use it… to apply to Interpol for a red notice,” ani Clavano sa panayam sa radyo.
“We are at least in the first step; Mr. Zaldy Co’s case is in court, and here in this venue, in the Sandiganbayan, we can ask for everything we have been saying before, the cancellation of the passport, and the application of an Interpol red notice,” dagdag pa niya.
Sinabi ni Clavano na “we can ask the court to cancel Zaldy Co’s passport because we are now at the part of the process where we can request cancellation. Once it is canceled, his movements will be less frequent; he will no longer be able to travel from one country to another.”
Aniya, maaaring mag-request ng Interpol red notice ang Ombudsman para sa paghahanap kay Co.
“We can also request an Interpol red notice where we can actively search for Mr. Zaldy Co, wherever he is, and the obligation of a country if there is an Interpol red notice is to arrest a person and deport or extradite him,” ani Clavano.
Nitong Martes ay isinampa na ng Office of the Ombudsman ang unang batch ng mga kaso laban kay Co, dati at mga kasalukuyang opisyal ng Department of Public Works and Highways, at board members ng Sunwest Group Holdings Company, Inc., sa maanomalyang flood control projects sa Oriental Mindoro.
Nahaharap ang mga ito sa reklamong paglabag sa malversation of public funds sa pamamagitan ng falsification of public documents at Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
Si Co ay nahaharap din sa karagdagang reklamong graft para sa pagtanggap umano ng unwarranted financial o pecuniary benefits.
Nasa labas ng bansa si Co mula pa nang isiwalat ni Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ang maanomalyang mga proyekto sa kanyang State of the Nation Address noong Hulyo. RNT/JGC
