Marcos vows to revoke Zaldy Co's passport once cases are filed
Published Nov 13, 2025 01:17 pm
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. holds a press conference on Nov. 13, 2025 at the Malacañan Palace to give updates on the investigation of flood control anomalies. (Mark Balmores)
Once cases are filed against former Ako Bikol Partylist congressman Zaldy Co, President Marcos will order the cancellation of his passport, but now he is letting the courts do their job.
Co, who has been out of the country supposedly to seek medical treatment, is among the biggest personalities linked to budget insertions and even the flood control projects mess.
Since he left the country, he has been urged to return and be placed under investigation for his alleged involvement in the massive flood control irregularities, but to no avail.
There have also been calls for his passport to be cancelled. Marcos, however, said there has to be solid grounds to revoke his passport.
"I think that's best directed at the lawyer because it's a legal answer. And the legal answer is because hindi pa nasampahan ng kaso (cases have yet to be filed), therefore the request for the cancellation of his passport cannot yet be made," Marcos said in a press conference in Malacañan on Thursday, Nov. 13.
"However, when that time comes, we will immediately cancel his passport. I'm not a lawyer so maybe I'm not the best person to explain it," he added.
"But that's the procedure. You have to give grounds for the cancellation of the passport. And those grounds will be based on the cases that will be filed against him," the President further said.
Asked if he was amenable to extending an option for Co to become a state witness, Marcos said the option has always been there, except for those who are the most guilty.
"That option is always there, except for them who are the most guilty," he said.
The President, however, refused to say if he thinks Co was the most guilty, saying he did not want to make a prejudged statement.
"I don't want… And then, ‘pag sinabi ko, sasagutin kita, sasabihin ninyo prejudged (if I say it, you would say it's prejudged). Let the courts do their work. Let the judges do their work," Marcos said.
According to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, Co, officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Bulacan, and contractor Sunwest, Inc. will be the first to face court cases involving the anomalous flood control projects.