House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has revoked the travel clearance of Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and ordered him to return to the country within ten days, citing urgent national matters and the paramount interest of the public.
The September 18 order warned that failure to comply would be treated as refusal to submit to the lawful processes of the House, carrying possible legal and disciplinary consequences.
The directive comes as Co is increasingly linked to the ongoing flood control projects controversy now under investigation by both houses of Congress. Contractors have testified that lawmakers demanded kickbacks worth about a quarter of project costs in exchange for approving allocations and securing contracts.
Records show that Co-linked firms are among the biggest recipients of these projects. Sunwest, Inc., where Co serves as chief executive, has been awarded more than ₱16 billion worth of projects in recent years, including over ₱10 billion in flood control works.
Another company tied to his family, Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corporation, secured contracts valued at around ₱4.6 billion, while FS Co Builders & Supply obtained more than ₱1 billion. Together, the Co family’s network of firms has cornered contracts amounting to nearly ₱20 billion in flood control funding between 2022 and 2025.
Investigators have flagged a pattern of ghost projects, substandard construction, and questionable budget insertions. In many cases, projects worth hundreds of millions of pesos were declared completed despite being unfinished or not started at all.
Testimonies from contractors confirmed that so-called “standard operating procedure” kickbacks were demanded by both lawmakers and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Questions have also been raised about Co’s role when he chaired the House committee on appropriations, with critics pointing to the surge of budget insertions during his tenure and suggesting that these allocations may have favored contractors within his business network.
Before the Speaker’s order was issued, House Majority Leader Sandro Marcos had already stressed that Co must return. “I’m gonna be the first one to tell you that he should come home and face any and all allegations against him,” Marcos said, adding that the accusations were “too severe, and it is dragging the House in the mud.”
Marcos admitted he was unsure if the chamber could legally compel Co’s return but maintained that failing to do so could expose him to an ethics complaint and even expulsion, citing the precedent of former Rep. Arnolfo Teves Jr.
The controversy has become one of the largest corruption scandals tied to infrastructure in recent years, with more than half a trillion pesos in flood control funding under review. Co, who is currently abroad for medical treatment, has denied wrongdoing, but pressure is mounting for him to face the hearings in person.
