MANILA, Philippines — The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said it believes that the court’s issuance of arrest warrants against former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and several others in relation to infrastructure anomalies is a step toward attaining justice for the people.
In a statement on Saturday, ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka said the Sandiganbayan’s move was “very important in the trial of the accused in the flood control scandal.”
“This marks the start of court proceedings to finally deliver justice to the public,” Hosaka said in Filipino.
READ: Zaldy Co last seen in Japan as PH gov’t continues international manhunt
“This can also be the legal basis for the return of those involved to the country so they can face the court,” he added, speaking Filipino.
On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that the Sandiganbayan had issued arrest warrants against Co and 17 others in connection with the criminal cases filed by the Office of the Ombudsman against them on Tuesday.
The charges — two counts of graft and one count of malversation through falsification — stem from an alleged anomalous P289.5-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
The Ombudsman’s filing of cases followed the recommendation of the ICI, which is mandated to investigate infrastructure projects across the country over the last 10 years.
Flood control projects
Meanwhile, Senator Bam Aquino has called on Co to return to the Philippines and reveal everything that he knows about the anomalous flood control projects and the controversial budget insertions.
Co recently posted a three-part revelation naming Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as the allege recipients of kickbacks from the P100-billion insertions in the 2025 budget.
Aquino said that all those involved in anomalous flood control projects must be held accountable and the government’s stolen money should be recovered.
Moreover, Aquino is pushing for the passage of his Senate Bill No. 1506 or the Citizen Access and Disclosure of Expenditures for National Accountability (CADENA) Act to ensure transparency in the use of public funds.
Under Senate Bill No. 1506, also known as the Blockchain the Budget Act, all government agencies will be mandated to upload and maintain budget-related documents—including contracts, project costs, bills of materials, and procurement details—in a Digital Budget Platform, making the process transparent and accessible to the public.
Government officials, who fail to publicly disclose budget-related documents or deliberately upload false information, will face administrative and criminal penalties under the CADENA Act.
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