President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered government agencies to begin efforts to secure an extradition treaty with Portugal to facilitate the return of former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Tuesday.
In a Malacañang press briefing, Remulla said authorities are already coordinating with the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for Co’s possible repatriation. Co has been declared a fugitive from justice by the Sandiganbayan.
“Nagbigay ng instruction ang President na formally, mag-aapply na kami ng extradition treaty sa kanila kahit wala pang formal extradition treaty between the two countries,” Remulla said.
“Pero through the Interpol, nagre-request na kami ng repatriation ni Zaldy Co kung nasa Portugal talaga siya,” he added.
Remulla earlier said authorities believe Co is hiding in Portugal and may be traveling using a Portuguese passport, raising the possibility that he has acquired foreign citizenship.
The Sandiganbayan has ordered Co’s arrest over criminal cases linked to alleged anomalous flood control projects and questionable budget insertions, controversies that placed him at the center of a major corruption scandal.
Co left the country last year shortly before being implicated in the alleged funneling of billions of pesos in public funds to irregular Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) projects and has yet to return.