The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said on Sunday that the Philippine Embassy in Portugal has not yet received any information regarding the whereabouts of resigned lawmaker and former House appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co.
DFA spokesperson Angelica Escalona said that, as of now, the embassy has not submitted any report concerning Co, who is believed to be in Portugal. This comes days after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that Co’s Philippine passport had already been cancelled.
Co left the country earlier citing medical reasons and has not returned amid an ongoing investigation into alleged budget insertions and anomalous flood control projects. Despite the accusations, Co has continued to deny any wrongdoing.
Escalona explained that once a Philippine passport is cancelled, the DFA notifies the Bureau of Immigration, which then coordinates with the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime. The information is subsequently relayed to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), allowing the cancelled passport to be flagged across international border control systems.
However, the DFA said it could not confirm whether Co holds a foreign passport, noting that Filipinos who acquire foreign citizenship or passports are not always required to report this information to the agency. Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government has begun coordinating with Portuguese authorities, while the National Bureau of Investigation has requested Interpol to issue a red notice against Co, who has been declared a fugitive from justice by the Sandiganbayan.
