MANILA — The graft case against former Ako Bicol Party-list representative Zaldy Co will go to trial before the Sandiganbayan on January 20, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said Monday.
In a press briefing, Dizon confirmed he will take the witness stand in the proceedings. “On January 20, I will testify in the trial of former Congressman Zaldy Co,” he said, adding that updates would be released following his sworn testimony.
Dizon noted he is the complainant in multiple related cases, saying he expects to testify in additional hearings in the coming weeks and months as part of ongoing efforts to “hold accountable those who must be held accountable.”
Co and several others, including Department of Public Works and Highways officials and Sunwest Corp. executives, are facing corruption and malversation charges stemming from alleged irregularities in flood control projects.
The Ombudsman filed the charges on November 18 in connection with a purportedly anomalous ₱289-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. Co has denied the accusations.
Last December, the Sandiganbayan declared Co a “fugitive from justice” and directed the Department of Foreign Affairs to cancel his Philippine passport after he failed to submit to court jurisdiction.
The National Bureau of Investigation subsequently asked Interpol to issue a red notice.
Interpol describes a red notice as a request for global law enforcement to locate and provisionally arrest a wanted person pending extradition or similar legal action.
Separately, the NBI filed a new plunder complaint against Co with the Department of Justice last week. DOJ spokesperson Polo Martinez said a preliminary investigation into the complaint is underway, though details have yet to be made public.