Former Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy Co is avoiding a return to the Philippines due to what his camp described as credible threats to his safety, even as he faces allegations tied to questioned flood control projects.
At a media briefing, Co’s lawyer Ruy Rondain said the ex-lawmaker had hoped to personally address the accusations but could not travel home under the current circumstances.
“Representative Co would have wanted to be here himself to answer your questions. Unfortunately, there are credible and serious threats to his life,” Rondain said Wednesday. According to him, Co fears being targeted “whether by a vigilante or a political enemy he doesn’t even know.”
Rondain initially declined to disclose Co’s location. “I don’t know where he is. I never asked, because it’s not relevant to his defense,” he told reporters, adding he did not want to risk “being in a position where I’d have to lie.”
Later in the briefing, he noted that the last update he received placed Co in Boston sometime between September and October for medical treatment.
Co is among several officials linked by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to irregularities involving a P289.5-million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. The commission’s initial report urged the Office of the Ombudsman to study possible charges against 18 public officials including the former representative.
The ICI later recommended criminal and administrative cases against Co, Senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva, and three others over what it described as “ghost” flood control works allegedly tied to a kickback scheme. The findings cited sworn statements and corroborated testimony from former Department of Public Works and Highways officials Henry Alcantara, Brice Ericson Hernandez, and Jaypee Mendoza.
