MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang called out Vice President Sara Duterte for suggesting to kidnap Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co over his alleged involvement in anomalous flood control projects, saying such a proposal was both “illegal and dangerous.”
In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview on Friday, Palace Press Officer Claire Castro questioned whether it should be how a vice president gives advice.
“And then her advice is to have Zaldy Co kidnapped, another thing, that’s illegal. So is that how a Vice President gives suggestions, by encouraging illegal actions? That’s dangerous,” Castro said.
The Palace official said there was no hold departure order to stop Co from traveling abroad, despite being implicated in the flood control anomalies.
She also said that the travel authority was granted not by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. but by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“Doesn’t she remember that she herself traveled more frequently, and the Office of the President allowed it—even when she had pending issues of corruption included in the articles of impeachment? So what’s the difference?” Castro said.
“In her case, there were already issues; in Zaldy Co’s case, it’s only under investigation,” she added.
