HOUSE of Representatives Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III has revoked the travel authority of Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co and ordered him to return to the country within 10 calendar days.
Dy’s directive, laid out in a letter to Co dated Sept. 18, is his first as Speaker since taking over from Martin Romualdez.
“This revocation is issued in the paramount interest of the public and due to the existence of pressing national matters requiring your physical presence.” Dy said.
He said failure to comply with the directive would be construed as Co’s refusal to submit himself to the processes of the House, and could lead to sanctions.
The Manila Times has reached out to Co’s office.
Co has been the subject of allegations involving anomalous flood control projects and insertions in the 2025 national budget.
Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco accused Co of being behind the reallocation of P17 billion from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Tiangco said P4 billion was funneled to Co’s allied party-lists, and P13 billion was placed under his name.
Co also owns Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., one of the 15 contractors that have received at least P100 billion in flood control projects in the past three years.
On Wednesday, Majority Leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Ferdinand Alexander Marcos said the allegations against Co have dragged the House “through the mud.”
Other lawmakers have been swept into the multimillion-peso scandal.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson said Friday Senators Joel Villanueva and Jinggoy Estrada remain under investigation for alleged budget insertions and kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects in Bulacan.
Lacson, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, said allowing Villanueva and Estrada to confront their accuser during Thursday’s hearing did not mean they had been cleared of wrongdoing.
“By any measure, Senators Villanueva and Estrada have not been cleared, at least on the issue of budget insertions involving infrastructure projects in Bulacan worth P600 million and P355 million, respectively, as alleged by Engr. Brice Hernandez,” Lacson said on X.
During the hearing, Hernandez, a former DPWH assistant engineer testified that P600 million in flood control projects under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA) was linked to Villanueva, and P355 million in the 2025 GAA to Estrada.
The two senators have denied the accusations.
Lacson said the P600-million figure was based on documents provided by Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian, which listed seven to eight items worth P75 million each.
He said his office’s own research confirmed Hernandez’s claim linking the P355 million to Estrada.
Lacson, however, stressed that Hernandez developed a “selective memory” when pressed for further details.
In separate radio and television interviews, Lacson said the committee was still waiting for additional evidence, such as documents or ledgers, to substantiate Hernandez’s claim.
“We need proof or receipts to make a recommendation or forward evidence to the ICI (Independent Commission for Infrastructure) to support Hernandez’s claims that he gave 30 percent commissions to the two senators,” Lacson said. “If he has proof, like a ledger, he must show it. The burden of proof is on him.”
Lacson said he would request Senate President Vicente Sotto III to allow Hernandez to leave the Senate premises this weekend under escort to search for the documents.
A letter is being prepared to permit Hernandez to go out between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday solely for that purpose.
Lacson defended Villanueva and Estrada’s presence at Thursday’s hearing, saying it was their right to confront their accuser.
“In case you didn’t notice, I did not clear the two senators on the issue of budget insertions because the budget books validate Hernandez’s allegations based on my staff’s research, at least in the case of Senator Estrada,” he said.
Describing the Blue Ribbon Committee’s stance as “sagasa (relentless) mode,” Lacson said he and Sotto were determined to pursue the investigation relentlessly.
“At this stage of our political careers, we’re going all out, no matter who gets hurt,” he said.
