Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co. (Photo courtesy of House Press and Public Affairs Bureau)
Manila – Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, a party-list lawmaker representing Ako Bicol, resigned on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025, as an independent commission pressed prosecutors to pursue graft and malversation charges over a flood-control project in Oriental Mindoro.
The resignation capped days of mounting pressure. On Sept. 26, Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III gave Co a deadline to return to the Philippines after his travel clearance was revoked. At the time, Co said he intended to face the accusations.
By then, he had already left the country for medical treatment, with earlier reports placing him in the United States. Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla later told reporters that Co was in Spain, and the Philippine National Police confirmed that his security escorts had been recalled after his departure.
Three days after Dy’s ultimatum and just hours after the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) submitted its first referral to the Office of the Ombudsman, Co announced he was stepping down.
In his letter addressed to Dy, Co called the decision “irrevocable” and effective immediately. He cited a “real, direct, grave and imminent threat” to his family’s safety and what he described as an “evident denial of my right to due process of law.”
The House confirmed receipt of the letter. Within hours, Dy announced that the chamber’s ethics committee would end its investigation, saying such complaints apply only to sitting members. “We accept his resignation,” Dy said, but stressed that Co “still has to return and face the allegations.”
Allegations under investigation
On the same day Co resigned, the ICI filed a 32-page report with the Ombudsman recommending graft, malversation, and falsification charges against Co and Department of Public Works and Highways officials.
The case centers on a ₱289.5-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, where investigators alleged contractors used substandard sheet piles and flagged procurement irregularities. The Ombudsman will determine whether to pursue charges.
Co’s defense
Co has denied benefiting from the projects. He has maintained that budget allocations were approved collectively in Congress and said he received no personal financial gain. In his resignation letter, he claimed that due process had been ignored and that his family faced serious threats.
Although he has been abroad for weeks, Co previously told reporters he intended to return and face proceedings. His resignation, however, was announced only after the ICI made its findings public.
Fallout beyond Congress
The resignation halts the House ethics proceedings but does not end outside investigations. Remulla said Co must “face the music” and respond to the accusations before prosecutors. The Ako Bicol party-list is expected to nominate a replacement for his vacated seat.
For now, Co’s Sept. 29 resignation stands as the most significant political fallout from the ICI’s early investigations, underscoring the commission’s growing reach in scrutinizing public works spending.
The accusations against him originate from the ICI’s referral to the Ombudsman and remain as allegations at this time.
