Marcos tells Zaldy Co: Come home, face charges

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. dared his former ally, former House appropriations committee chairperson Zaldy Co, to return home to the Philippines and face the charges against him in order for his allegations to “mean something.”

“Well, look at the quality of the statements. Alam mo, mahaba na ang naging mga usapan natin tungkol sa fake news (We’ve spoken at length about fake news). Anyone can go online and make all kinds of claims and say all kinds of things, paulit-ulit (over and over again), but it means nothing. For it to mean something, umuwi siya rito. Harapin niya yung mga kaso niya (he should come home. He should face the cases against him),” said Marcos in a press conference on Monday, November 24.

Co, once a powerful member of Congress, faces a long list of allegations — from profiting off government infrastructure projects to manipulating the budget to allow the theft of billions in public funds. In a series of videos posted on his social media accounts, Co has attempted to turn the tables by accusing Marcos himself of profiting from anomalous projects — allegations that the Palace and Marcos have dismissed.

The former legislator had fled the Philippines around the time Congressional probes into the alleged corruption started. He has since stepped down as Ako Bicol representative. Philippine law enforcement have said they are tracking down Co’s exact whereabouts.

Right before Marcos’ scheduled press conference, Co released a new video in which he detailed how he supposedly delivered over P56 billion for Marcos and his cousin, former House speaker Martin Romualdez from project kickbacks.

Co, alongside public works officials and contractors, face three corruption-related cases — the first since the flood control corruption mess first made headlines in Marcos’ State of the Nation Address last July. The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan has issued an arrest warrant for Co and most of his co-accused.

“Kung meron siyang gusto sabihin, sabihin niya. Malalaman naman ng tao yan (If he has something to say, he should say it. The people can decide). Why — come home. Come home. Ba’t ka nagtatago sa malayo? Ako hindi ako nagtatago. Kung meron kang accusation sa akin, nandito ako (But why is he hiding? I’m not hiding. If they are allegations against me, I’m here to face it),” added Marcos. – Rappler.com