The situation, in brief
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has revoked the travel clearance of Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and directed him to return to the Philippines within ten days. In a formal letter dated September 18, Dy told Co that his travel clearance for a personal trip was “revoked…
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has revoked the travel clearance of Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and directed him to return to the Philippines within ten days.
In a formal letter dated September 18, Dy told Co that his travel clearance for a personal trip was “revoked effective immediately” in the paramount interest of the public.
The Speaker stressed that Co’s “immediate return is necessary to address the aforementioned matters with urgency.”
Dy’s order comes as Co, the former House appropriations chair, faces mounting allegations linking him to anomalous flood control projects and billions of pesos in questionable budget insertions.
“Failure to comply with this directive within the prescribed period shall be construed as a refusal to subject yourself to the lawful processes of the House of Representatives and may result in the initiation of appropriate disciplinary and legal actions,” Dy said.
Co has denied any wrongdoing, saying he would only respond once given specific charges. He previously invoked the judiciary’s sub judice rule, citing pending cases before the Supreme Court and the Office of the Ombudsman related to alleged budget insertions.
His construction firm, Sunwest, was among the top contractors named by the President in connection with the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
The controversy intensified when Navotas Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco told the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee that Co was the proponent of ₱13.8 billion in flood control-related insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Tiangco described how such allocations were disguised through practices known as “parking” and “sagasa,” fueling suspicions that lawmakers manipulated the spending plan for favored contractors.
Other local officials also raised red flags. Oriental Mindoro Gov. Humerlito Dolor testified that congressional insertions ballooned his province’s flood control allocations from ₱12.7 billion to ₱30.2 billion between 2022 and 2025, describing some projects as overpriced and substandard.
Dolor said corruption siphoned off as much as 42 percent of project costs, with contractors working at night to conceal questionable activities.
