Zaldy Co, Rep. James Ang face Ombudsman complaints over Antique infra projects
By Tara Yap
FORMER Rep. Zaldy Co. and Rep. Ang
ILOILO CITY—Former Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co and Rep. James “Jojo” Ang Jr. of Uswag Ilonggo party-list are among individuals facing administrative and criminal complaints over alleged destructive and anomalous infrastructure projects in Antique province.
Non-partisan group Amlig Antique Alliance filed five separate complaints before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas in Iloilo City on Thursday, July 16.
Co and Ang were included as they were contractors prior to their election as party-list representatives. Co was co-founder of Sunwest Corp. while Ang was with Allencon Development Corp., which both have infrastructure projects in Antique.
The complaint covered five separate infrastructure projects implemented between 2019 and 2025. There are the Coastal Road, Seawall and Esplanade in Funda-Dalipe; the Pandan–Ibajay Road; the Maybunga- San Ramon Road; the Laua-an Ridge View to Aklan River Road; and the Panay East-West Road in Valderrama town.
In its complaint, Amlig Antique Alliance said these multi-billion-peso projects are destroying the environment.
Amlig Antique Alliance have sent complaints to Sen. Loren Legarda and Secretary Vince Dizon of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“The citizens of Antique have done everything right, yet our leaders have chosen to remain completely silent,” it said in a statement.
Also named respondents in the Ombudsman complaints were officials of the DPWH-Western Visayas regional office, DPWH-Antique Engineering District, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources-6, and its attached agency Environmental and Management Bureau-6.
International Builders Corp. (IBC) and Allencon Development Corp., which are owned by Ang’s uncle Alfonso Tan, were also included in the complaints. The other two contractors are A.M. Oreta & Co. and J.E. Tico Construction Co.
Rolly Pedriña, the group’s legal counsel, said these are the first batch of Ombudsman complaints. “We do not deserve this abandonment. The filing of these eight cases is just the beginning,” Amlig Antique Alliance said.