ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider SC requires Ombudsman Remulla to answer Zaldy Co's petition

SC requires Ombudsman Remulla to answer Zaldy Co's petition

Published Feb 13, 2026 11:23 am
The Supreme Court (SC) has required Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla to comment on the petition of former congressman Zaldy Co who challenged the filing of criminal charges against him in the P289.5 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
The resolution is expected to be released by the SC next week. Normally, the SC requires a respondent in a petition to file the required comment in 10 days from receipt of the copy of the resolution.
Once the comment is filed, a petitioner like Co has an option to reply.
After the filing of the comment and a reply (if filed), the SC may proceed to deliberate on the plea of Co for a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would stop the proceedings on his cases at the Sandiganbayan.
In his petition, Co alleged before the SC that he was deprived of his right to due process when the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and non-bailable malversation of public funds against him before the Sandiganbayan last Nov. 14, 2025.
He pleaded the SC for the issuance of a TRO and, thereafter, the nullification of the charges filed against him.
On Nov. 21, 2025, the Sandiganbayan ordered the arrest of Co and 17 other officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in Region IV-B and directors of Sunwest Corporation.
Co has been out of the country since July 2025. In his SC petition, it was affirmed that Co signed his pleading in Sweden.
After the issuance of the arrest order, the anti-graft court then declared Co a fugitive from justice and thereafter ordered the cancellation of his passport.
On Jan. 8, 2026, the Sandiganbayan denied the motion for reconsideration filed by Co through the Rondain & Mendiola law offices.
In denying the motion, the anti-graft court ruled that since Co is still a fugitive from justice, he is not entitled to any judicial relief.
Earlier, the SC had ruled that fugitives from justice are persons who evade criminal prosecution before the courts and those who flee after conviction to avoid the punishment imposed on them.
The SC stressed that fugitives from justice are barred from seeking judicial relief unless they have been arrested based on a court warrant or they have voluntarily surrendered.
Co’s co-accused in the graft and non-bailable malversation of public funds cases are 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 board of directors of Sunwest Corporation.
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.
Since no bail was recommended in the malversation case, the female accused are currently at Camp Karingal in Quezon City while the male accused are detained at the Payatas new jail facility, also in Quezon City.
Co also has a pending graft case before the anti-graft court’s seventh division.
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.