The camp of former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co has vowed to file criminal charges against police officials over the alleged illegal and abusive seizure of vehicles linked to him and Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation.
Co’s lawyer, Atty. Ruy Rondain, said at least 34 vehicles were forcibly taken by the Philippine National Police–Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG) without a search warrant, separate from the eight vehicles covered by a Bureau of Customs warrant.
“They got these [vehicles] forcibly without a search warrant. 34 [vehicles]. I asked them why, they said the LTO (Land Transportation Office) placed it under an alarm for being a hot car, [meaning] ninakaw. Sino ba nag-report na ninakaw ‘yan? ‘Yung owner? Eh kami ‘yung may-ari niyan. ‘Yung mga kumpanya at mga personal na kliyente ko. Sino nag-report na nakaw?” Rondain said.
He further accused authorities of effectively confiscating the vehicles by seizing the keys and preventing their use, calling the move abusive.
“They confiscated the keys and barred these vehicles from being taken out of the garage. Effectively, they also confiscated the vehicles, too, because the owners cannot use them. Puwede ba ‘yun? Talagang abuso. Maghintay sila ng asunto, ng demanda. Abusive. Hinihingan ko ng authority, ang sabi utos lang raw. Puwede ba ‘yun?. That is state abuse,” he added.
Rondain also claimed that drivers were detained for nearly 14 hours during the operation.
“They detained the drivers from 10 a.m. to almost midnight. That is also a violation. They said they weren’t detained because they did not allow the drivers to go home,” he said.
When asked about the charges to be filed, Rondain said, “I won’t telegraph our moves but these are serious cases.”
He also questioned the Bureau of Customs’ seizure of nine vehicles, noting that some are owned by Co’s wife and others by the company.
“Some of the vehicles belong to Mrs. Co, while the others are owned by the company. Sunwest Construction is not a respondent in a case here. Why seize these vehicles?” Rondain said.
In response, PNP-HPG spokesperson Police Lieutenant Nadame Malang said only six vehicles were seized after being placed under alarm by the LTO.
“It is a pure law enforcement operation,” Malang said. “If they see anything wrong with it, we will answer it before the courts.”
Malang denied the claim that 34 vehicles were seized.
“Six vehicles were placed by LTO under alarm, and we only implemented na dapat nakuha ‘yung mga unit na iyon, pero hindi po 34,” he said.
He added that the vehicles were flagged over “inappropriate budget source,” though he did not specify who reported them to the LTO.