Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co has left the House of Representatives and the rest of the country in shambles with his resignation, after Navotas Representative Tobias “Toby” Tiangco accused him of being the mastermind behind the flood control corruption scheme.
Co tendered his resignation on Monday, September 28, which was the deadline House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III set for the ex-congressman to return to the Philippines after revoking his travel clearance on September 18.
In his letter, Co cited a “real, direct, grave, and imminent threat to the lives of my family members and me” and an “evident denial of my right to due process of law,” and denied making and allowing last-minute budget insertions to the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Additionally, he said that he will “address the sham and baseless accusations” at the “appropriate time and before the appropriate forum.” However, he has not yet returned to the Philippines since the House confirmed on September 4 that he had flown to the U.S. on a travel clearance to seek medical treatment.
“Resignation is not accountability,” Tiangco said in a statement responding to Co’s departure from the lower chamber. “What the Filipino people deserve is for him to face the music, to come home and answer all the allegations against him.” He earlier testified at a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, saying that Co had inserted P13.8 billion into the 2025 GAA. Co was chair of the House Committee on Appropriations from July 2022 to January 2025.
“At kung hindi niya haharapin ang mga alegasyon, this can be interpreted as a tacit admission of guilt,” Tiangco added.
Succession and Investigation
Co has also filed a leave of absence from the Ako Bicol Partylist, which he chaired and represented in Congress up until his resignation.
As Ako Bicol won two seats in the 2025 congressional elections, the second nominee, Rep. Alfredo Garbin Jr., will be taking the first seat. The partylist’s third nominee, Attorney Jan Almario Chan, is expected to fill the second seat in the House of Representatives.
Because of Co’s resignation, Congress scrapped the ethics complaint against him, filed by Tiangco. “Our committee already lost jurisdiction over his person,” said 4Ps Partylist Rep. Jonathan Clement “JC” Abalos II, chair of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, which is in charge of processing ethics complaints lodged against House members.
“We have talked about the next steps to take, to suspend him and eventually expel him if he continues to refuse to cooperate,” said Dy. “But it is up to the Department of Justice or [Independent Commission on Infrastructure] which charges are needed to be filed against him.”
Co is among the 21 individuals who will be subjected to case build-up under the DOJ National Prosecution Service. The DOJ has also requested that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) issue a blue notice on Co, which would help authorities learn of his whereabouts.
Aside from the alleged budget insertions, Co is also accused of demanding as much as 30 percent of flood control funds from contractors, and owning 11 aircraft worth P4.7 billion registered under companies he owns or co-owns, such as Misibis Aviation & Development Corp., Hi-Tone Construction Development Corp., and QM Builders. Hi-Tone Construction Development Corp. is one of the top-earning construction companies currently under investigation for project anomalies.
Co’s resignation follows those of Leyte First District Rep. Martin Romualdez and Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, who both stepped down from their posts as House speaker and Senate president, respectively, and continue to serve as legislators. Romualdez and Escudero are also accused of benefiting from the ghost or substandard flood control projects.
