President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has conveyed disappointment to French and Czech diplomatic representatives over the continued freedom of fugitive and former lawmaker Zaldy Co, while holding out hope that legal cooperation between Manila and its European partners will eventually secure Co’s return.
The Presidential Communications Office said Marcos received French Ambassador Marie Fontanel and Czech Chargé d’Affaires Eva Tenzin at Malacañang, where he sought additional details on how Co came to be released from Czech custody after being intercepted attempting to cross into Germany.
“He expressed disappointment at the whole situation with Zaldy Co and that despite the Philippines’ earnest efforts, Zaldy Co remains at large in Europe,” the PCO said in a statement.
Co is at the center of a public works corruption scandal and has been a fugitive since the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court issued a warrant for his arrest in November. The court subsequently ordered the cancellation of his passport.
He is currently in France, where he has filed for political asylum on grounds of alleged political persecution, according to Palace Press Officer Claire Castro. Unlike his earlier detention in the Czech Republic, Co now moves freely within the Schengen Area under a valid visa.
Marcos, the PCO said, requested a fuller account of the circumstances surrounding Co’s release by Czech authorities. The president also affirmed his confidence in the Philippines’ bilateral ties with both France and the Czech Republic, which he described as rooted in “shared values, including respect for the rule of law.”
Castro said Marcos will not seek to influence France’s decision on the asylum application, though she noted his concern over the use of asylum mechanisms by politicians to sidestep legal accountability at home.
“Moving forward, he remains hopeful of future police, legal, and judicial cooperation, so that once and for all Zaldy Co is brought back to PH to face justice,” the PCO added.
