Philippines: Zaldy Co in Madrid, Dubai or Singapore? OFWs hunt for fugitive congressman

Manila: In the bustling streets of the Middle East, the neon-lit corners of Los Angeles, and the streets of Europe, a quiet vigilance grips the Filipino diaspora.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) — nurses, engineers, restaurant service crew, caregivers, seafarers — the unsung pillars of the Philippine economy, have turned into an impromptu network of sleuths.

Their target: Elizaldy "Zaldy" Co, the former Ako Bicol party-list congressman who vanished amid a storm of corruption allegations.

Resignation

Resigning on September 29, 2025, just as House probes closed in, Co is accused of orchestrating ₱13.8 billion in midnight budget insertions for ghost flood control projects — for 2025 alone.

Turns out these are meant for phantom infrastructure that siphoned taxpayer funds while real floods ravaged hapless locals.

Multi-billion scandal

The scandal erupted when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. slashed ₱16.7 billion from the 2025 budget, exposing how Co's family firm, Sunwest Construction, cornered 79 projects worth ₱10 billion.

Testimonies from contractors revealed kickbacks as high as 30%, with Co allegedly pocketing millions via secretive bicameral committees.

His fleet of 11 luxury aircraft, valued at ₱4.7 billion, fuelled whispers of a high-flying escape — perhaps to a Gulf hideout or deregistered jet in the Pacific.

Interpol "Blue Notice"

The DOJ's Interpol Blue Notice hangs like a shadow, but Co remains elusive, his "medical retreat" excuse wearing thin.

For OFWs, this isn't abstract politics; it's personal betrayal.

Remittances totaling $37 billion annually fund the very budgets Co allegedly gutted.

In OFW Facebook groups like "Pinoy Abroad Alert" and WhatsApp chains from Toronto to Tokyo, photos of Co circulate — grainy shots from private airstrips, tips on his Misibis Resort ties.

"We've built nations abroad; he built ghosts at home," vents one OFW.

Crowd-sourced intel

Hashtags like #HuntZaldyCo and #OFWJustice trend on X, blending outrage with crowdsourced intel.

Supposed flight details of Co, hopping from one country to another, are doing the rounds online.

Ex-aides' leaks implicating Speaker Martin Romualdez only stoke the fire.

This global watch isn't vengeance — it's reclamation.

Chair of appropriations

Elizaldy "Zaldy" Salcedo Co, born December 8, 1970, in Legazpi City, Albay, is a Filipino businessman and former politician.

He co-founded Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation (SCDC) in 1997 with his brother, Christopher "Kito" Co, a Bicol-based firm that became a major government contractor.

As a key ally of the administration, he chaired the powerful House Committee on Appropriations, overseeing the national budget.

His influence peaked in 2024-2025, where he played a central role in budget deliberations, including controversial insertions for infrastructure projects.

He left the Philippines in August 2025 for the US, citing medical treatment, but US records show he departed New York on September 13, with unconfirmed sightings in Singapore, Spain, and Portugal.

His resignation letter claimed threats to his family's safety and denial of due process, but it halted House ethics probes while shifting scrutiny to criminal investigations.

Mastermind

Co is implicated as the alleged mastermind of a multibillion-peso kickback scheme in flood control contracts.

Sunwest, his firm, secured ₱38 billion in DPWH projects from 2016-2024, including 79 flood-related contracts totaling ₱10 billion — ranking it 8th among flagged contractors.

Whistleblowers, including dismissed DPWH engineers Henry Alcantara and Brice Hernandez, testified to delivering cash kickbacks (10-25% of project costs) to Co's Pasig residence and Taguig penthouse — up to ₱1 billion in one instance, received by his staff.

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco accused Co of inserting ₱13.8 billion in the 2025 budget for his allies' projects, plus ₱4.29 billion to party-lists he controls (Ako Bicol: ₱2.23B; Barangay Health Workers, headed by his niece: ₱2.06B).

Former aide Orly Guteza alleged delivering "basura" (suitcases of ₱48 million each) to Co and ex-Speaker Martin Romualdez's homes multiple times.

Graft charges

The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) recommended graft charges against Co and 17 others over a substandard ₱289.5 million Mindoro project.

The DOJ is building cases against 21 individuals, including Co, for bid-rigging and money laundering; the AMLC froze ₱4.7 billion in his air assets (private jets worth more than the Philippine Coast Guard's fleet) and ₱500 million in vehicles, according to the Philippine News Agency.

Co's passport remains active. His son, Ellis, publicly disowned him, urging his return.

The Philippine National Police (PNP) recalled his security detail post-resignation.

Pressure is building up, especially from young Filipinos. More protests are planned later this month and in November.

Why is it a big deal?

This scandal exposes systemic corruption in the Philippines' flood control programme, meant to protect millions from disasters like Typhoon Carina, which killed over 400 and displaced 4 million.

Instead, funds were siphoned via overpriced, substandard projects — e.g., ghost dredging and bid-rigging — leaving regions vulnerable while contractors like Sunwest amassed billions.

Betrayal

President Marcos Jr. flagged 15 contractors (including Sunwest) for cornering ₱100 billion, calling it a "betrayal."

The ₱549 billion in questionable insertions (some unprogrammed) diverted funds from health, education, and disaster response, fueling public outrage amid ongoing floods.

House Speaker Faustino "Bojie" Dy III (elected September 2025, succeeding Romualdez) took decisive action against Co.

On September 18, he revoked Co's travel clearance and issued a 10-day ultimatum (until September 28) to return and face ethics complaints for "betrayal of public trust," filed by Tiangco.

Dy stated the House leadership and ethics committee would discuss further steps if Co failed to comply, emphasising accountability.

Dy has coordinated with Senate invites for Co (via inter-parliamentary courtesy) and stressed restoring public trust, now fast wearing thin.

Baggage

Co, who is closely allied with presidential cousin Martin Romualdez, is now the biggest fish Filipinos, especially those overseas, are raring to hook.

As probes summon ghosts of pork barrel past, and protests at home grow louder, OFWs remind Manila: no ocean is wide enough to hide from the people who keep the lights on.

Will Co surface for a comeback, or fade like his unfinished projects? The diaspora waits, eyes sharp, wallets lighter, resolve unbreakable.