ASEANEWS HEADLINE-COURTS & CRIME | MANILA, Philippines: Sandiganbayan orders arrest of Zaldy Co, 17 others

The Sandiganbayan ordered on Friday, Nov. 21, the arrest of resigned congressman Zaldy Co and 17 other officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and directors of Sunwest Corporation who were charged with graft and malversation of public funds in the P289.5 million flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.

In a press statement, the Office of the Ombudsman (OMB) asked law enforcers to “effect the arrests” of Co and 17 other accused.

The statement did not state which division of the Sandiganbayan issued the arrest order. The three cases filed by the OMB last Nov. 18 were raffled to the fifth, sixth, and seventh divisions of the anti-graft court.

Aside from Co, also ordered arrested were DPWH Region IV-B Director Gerald A. Pacanan, Assistant Regional Director Gene Ryan A. Altea, Assistant Regional Director Ruben C. Santos, Jr., Construction Division Chief Dominic G. Serrano, Project Engineer III Felisardo S. Casuno, Materials Engineer Timojen A. Sacar, Planning and Design Division OIC-Chief Montrexis T. Tamayo, Maintenance Division Chief Juliet C. Calvo, Quality Assurance and Hydrology Division OIC-Chief Dennis P. Abagon, Accountant IV Lerma D. Cayco, bids and awards committee member Grace D. Lopez, BAC vice chairperson Friedrich Karl L. Camero, President and Chairperson of Sunwest Board of Directors Aderma Angelie D. Alcazar, Treasurer Cesar X. Buenaventura, and members Consuelo D. Aldon, Engr. Noel Y. Cao, and Anthony L. Ngo.

The OMB said it “welcomes the issuance of warrants of arrest against Zaldy Co and the 17 other accused in the corruption cases filed before the Sandiganbayan last Tuesday.”

“To the law enforcement agencies whose responsibility it is to effect the arrests — execute the warrants without delay. Ensure their immediate arrest and bring them before the bar of justice,” it also said.

The three cases filed against Co and the others went to three different divisions. The first graft charge, docketed as SB-25-CRM-0039, is for violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which went to the Fifth Division. For this charge, Co and the 17 others stand as the accused.

The second graft charge with docket number SB-25-CRM-0040 is for violation of Section 3(h) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. It went to the Seventh Division, with Co as the only accused.

The single violation of Article 171(4) of the Revised Penal Code or Malversation of Public Funds through Falsification of Public Documents, with docket number SB-25-CRM-0041, went to the Sixth Division. In this case, all 18 of the accused were charged.

The charges stemmed from the probe conducted by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon on the irregular P289 million flood-control project for the Construction of a Road Dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujuan, Oriental Mindoro on Sept. 9, 2025 together with Governor Bonz Dolor.

They discovered that the steel sheet piles used for the dike were grossly below the required standards. There was an exposed pile length of 2.5 meters, and another 0.6 meter was embedded in the pile cap. All in all, there was a total of only three meters, which is far from the 12-meter specification stated in the Detailed Engineering Design.

With the arrest order, the Ombudsman can now ask the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) for a red notice that would ask law enforcement agencies abroad to arrest Co who left the Philippines last July and has not returned since then.

The Ombudsman can also petition the Sandiganbayan to order the cancellation of Co’s passport to prevent him from travelling from one country to another.