SPEAKER Faustino Dy III said while the House has lost jurisdiction over Zaldy Co, he still has to return to the country to face allegations against him as his resignation will not absolve him of allegations of corruption.
“That’s why we think the DOJ (Department of Justice) should take over and also the ICI (Independent Commission on Infrastructure) to determine what they can impose. We need him to come back by exhausting all means. He should be made to return to answer the issues,” Dy said on Monday night.
In an interview yesterday, Dy said he would discuss with Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla ways to ensure Co’s immediate return to the country.
Rep. Jonathan Clement Abalos (PL, 4Ps), ethics panel chair, urged Co to tell everything he knows about the flood control fund scandal. “I’m not only encouraging him but it is an obligation we owe to the Filipino people, especially that he was an elected public official,” he told a TV interview.
“Our Constitution provides for it: Public office is a public trust and the Filipino people deserve answers,” he said.
Dy, on Monday night, said he House leadership had planned to suspend Co and eventually expel him if he would not return to the country.
He said Co had until yesterday to return to the country, and the ethics committee was prepared to hear the complaint filed by Navotas Rep. Tobias Tiangco if he did not show up.
Dy and Abalos said they were surprised that Co submitted his resignation letter on Monday, through fellow Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin (PL, Ako Bicol).
Garbin said his party-list’s third nominee, lawyer Jan Almario Chan, will replace Co.
Garbin also said Ako Bicol still needs to submit Co’s irrevocable resignation letter to the Commission on Elections.
Comelec Chairman George Garcia said, “The HOR needs to write to us for us to be able to issue a new proclamation. We are waiting for the HOR’s letter.”
