By AJ Alarcon

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Saturday, November 22, urged former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co and 17 other individuals linked to an alleged flood-control corruption scheme to surrender following the issuance of arrest warrants against them.

NBI Officer-in-Charge Angelito Magno said Co and his co-accused — composed of personnel from Sunwest Corporation and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) — should voluntarily yield before further consequences arise.

He added that the bureau has already begun efforts to locate those covered by the warrants, stressing, “Face the warrant now. Justice is calling — better to meet it than to run from it.”

Meanwhile, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) directed the Philippine National Police (PNP) to enforce the warrants in full accordance with the law.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the PNP has already deployed tracker teams to implement the arrest orders.

Before the warrants were issued, Co denied the allegations, claiming that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, and former Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman instructed him to insert ₱100 billion worth of infrastructure projects into the proposed 2025 national budget.

Earlier, the Taguig City Police attempted to serve the arrest warrant at Co’s condominium unit in Bonifacio Global City (BGC), but he was not present and was last reported to be in Japan.