The Sandiganbayan has ordered the cancellation of the passports of resigned congressman Zaldy Co and three members of the board of directors of the construction firm Sunwest, Inc. and has declared them as fugitives from justice.

In resolutions issued last Wednesday, Dec. 10, the anti-graft court directed the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to immediately cancel the passports of Co and Sunwest’s Aderma Angelie D. Alcazar, Cesar Z. Buenaventura, and Noel Y. Cao for their "deliberate refusal to submit to the lawful authority of the court."

Co remained firm in staying abroad and said that he will only return if guaranteed conditions such as the grant of house arrest or bail are met.

Co's actions, the Sandiganbayan declared, only confirms his clear intent to remain outside the jurisdiction of the court.

Thus, the court said the cancellation of Co’s passport is "deemed both appropriate and necessary to facilitate the enforcement of the duly issued warrant of arrest and mandate the accused's surrender to the jurisdiction of the court."

It also said: "It must be emphasized that the accused left the country at the time when investigations into alleged corruption in flood control projects were active and when formal charges against him were imminent. His strategically timed flight, therefore, provides sufficient ground for the reasonable inference that his action constituted a deliberate attempt to flee from justice."

As for Alcazar, Buenaventura, and Cao, the anti-graft court said that they were already aware of their warrants considering the highly publicized nature of the case. Despite calls for their voluntary surrender, they chose to remain at large, it added.

The Sandiganbayan said that agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) attempted to execute warrants of arrest.

But it said the accused were not found in their last known addresses or elsewhere.

"To date, herein accused remain at large despite being constructively aware (through media coverage) of the filing of the Informations and issuance of warrants of arrest against them," it also said.

The two resolutions on the cancellation of passports were written by Fifth Division Chairperson and Associate Justice Zaldy V. Trespeses with the concurrence of Associate Justices Maryann E. Corpus-Manalac and Gener M. Gito.

There were three cases -- one of them a non-bailable malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents – were filed against Co and his co-accused in the “anomalous” P289.5 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The first graft charge, docketed as SB-25-CRM-0039, is for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Aside from Co, also charged in the first graft case were Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Region IV-B Regional Director Gerald A. Pacanan III, Assistant Regional Director Gene Ryan A. Altea, Assistant Regional Director Ruben C. Santos Jr., Project Engineer III Felisardo S. Casuno, Materials Engineer Timojen A. Sacar, and Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division OIC-Chief, Accountant IV Lerma D. Cayco, Planning and Design Division OIC-Chief Montrexis T. Tamayo, Maintenance Division Chief Juliet C. Calvo, and the BOD of Sunwest Corporation.

Only Co was charged in the second graft case docketed as SB-CRM-0040.

In the third case on malversation of public funds, Co and all those charged in the first graft case were named as accused.

Nine DPWH officials have already been arraigned before the Fifth and Sixth Divisions and pleaded "not guilty." They are Pacanan, Altea, Santos Jr., Serrano, Casuno, Cayco, Calvo, Abagon, and Tamayo.

The female accused are currently detained at Camp Karingal in Quezon City while the male accused are incarcerated at the Payatas new jail facility.