By Lane Afable, News Editor
Malacañang yesterday assured the safety of former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, one of the central figures in the multibillion-peso flood control scandal, once he is brought back to the Philippines to face prosecution.
“Definitely naman, lahat naman ng Pilipino ay dapat safe na bumabalik sa Pilipinas – iyan naman po ang assurance ng pamahalaan.
“Pero dapat tingnan muna po natin kung saan nanggagaling iyong sinasabing death threats,” said Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro in a Palace press briefing.
A legislator said the biggest challenge in bringing Co back to the Philippines is ensuring his safety, warning that some groups may not want him to return to testify on the flood-control controversy.
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday assured the public that the government is taking all necessary and legal steps to bring home Co, who was stopped at the German border after entering from the Czech Republic.
Co was denied entry and returned to the Czech authorities, where he remains in custody.
The President said a high-level coordination team will also be deployed to closely monitor and facilitate the developments.
Co and several others are facing graft and malversation charges before the Sandiganbayan in connection with the alleged flood anomalies in a DPWH Region IV-B project.
