House speaker Faustino Dy III announced on Friday that he has revoked the travel clearance of Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizaldy Co and ordered him to return to the country within 10 days to face the ongoing investigation into the alleged flood control fund anomalies.
“Your existing travel clearance for your personal trip is hereby revoked effective immediately,” Dy said in a letter to Co dated September 18, his first official act as the new leader of the House of Representatives.
Co, former chair of the House Committee on Appropriations, is accused of allegedly orchestrating the insertion of billions of pesos in the 2025 national budget.
The embattled lawmaker is reportedly in the United States for medical treatment.
“This revocation is issued in the paramount interest of the public and due to the existence of pressing national matters requiring your physical presence,” Dy said.
Dy, who took over the post after the resignation of Speaker Martin Romualdez last Wednesday, said that “in the exigency of service, you (Co) are hereby directed to return to the Philippines within ten (10) calendar days from your receipt of this notice.”
“Your immediate return is necessary to address the aforementioned matters with urgency,” he said.
The Speaker told Co that his immediate and strict compliance is expected, and that “failure to comply with this directive within the prescribed period shall be construed as a refusal to subject yourself to the lawful processes of the House of Representatives and may result in the initiation of appropriate disciplinary and legal actions.”
House majority leader Ferdinand Alexander Marcos earlier urged Co to return to the country, saying “he is dragging the House in the mud.”
