Zaldy Co arrested, detained in Prague, Marcos confirms

April 17 ------ Fugitive former congressman Zaldy Co, a central figure in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, has been arrested, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced. Co is "now detained in Prague after crossing into the Czech Republic without proper documentation and is currently in the custody of Czech authorities," the president added.

Marcos said the Philippine government is in close coordination with the Czech government "to ensure that all legal processes are followed and to arrange for his return to the Philippines at the soonest possible time." "We will keep the public informed as developments unfold," he added.

The former Ako Bicol Party-list representative left the Philippines in mid-2025 supposedly to seek medical treatment abroad, but he has since refused to return to the country after Marcos opened an investigation into anomalous flood control projects, including those constructed by his family's Sunwest Corp.

Co was further swept into the controversy after several Department of Public Works and Highways officials tagged him as among the high-ranking government officials who earned kickbacks from substandard or missing anti-flood infrastructures that amounted to hundreds of billions of pesos. The House of Representatives tried to force Co to return to the Philippines by canceling his travel authority, but he resigned as Ako Bicol Party-list representative shortly before his peers could finalize the move.

While Co’s Philippine passport has been canceled in December 2025, the former lawmaker was able to remain overseas reportedly through the use of a foreign passport and a golden visa from Portugal. In February 2026, the Sandiganbayan declared Co a fugitive after charges of graft and malversation were filed against HIM over an anomalous road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

The government earlier said it has been working with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) to facilitate Co’s arrest as the Philippines has no extradition treaty with Portugal, where the former House member was reportedly staying. Co previously released a series of videos implicating Marcos in the nationwide corruption scheme, but the President and the Malacañang denied the allegations.

Source: news.abs-cbn.com