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Ombudsman on SC's order to comment on Zaldy Co's petition: 'We are ready'

Philippines | National

Ombudsman on SC's order to comment on Zaldy Co's petition: 'We are ready'

By Czarina Nicole Ong Ki

The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday afternoon, Feb. 13, declared it is ready to answer the petition of former congressman Zaldy Co who challenged the cases for graft and non-bailable malversation of public funds filed against him before the Sandiganbayan.

"We are ready with our counter arguments to be put in the comment. The sooner we resolve this, the better," Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said in a statement.

In a resolution during its full court session last Feb. 11, the SC directed Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to comment in 10 days on Co’s petition.

The SC did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) pleaded in Co’s petition.

Co has been out of the country since July 2025. He filed his petition which he signed and authenticated in Sweden.

He has been charged criminally in the P289 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. His co-accused are officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region IV-B.

Among other legal arguments, Co claimed that the Office of the Ombudsman deprived him of his right to due process in filing the cases.

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