Zaldy Co detained, but Czech and French envoys could offer no other info to Marcos

Not even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. himself could extract more information from envoys of Paris and Prague, Malacañang said on Thursday, April 30, as the administration said it would exhaust all legal and diplomatic means to bring resigned legislator Zaldy Co back to the Philippines. This would allow him to face graft and malversation cases against him. 

Marcos had summoned on April 29 the envoys of France and the Czech Republic to Malacañang Palace to discuss the case of Co, who’d been stopped at the German border and sent back to the Czech Republic because he did not have the right paperwork. 

Marcos then immediately announced Co’s capture, only for the Philippine government to confirm weeks later that he had been released, had left Prague, and had reportedly sought asylum in France. 

Palace press officer Undersecretary Claire Castro during Thursday’s briefing made it a point to emphasize that Czech’s Chargé d’Affaires Eva Tenzin had confirmed that “Zaldy Co was detained by Czech authorities due to invalid travel documents” — a not-so-subtle answer to critics who insisted Marcos and Malacañang got it wrong by announcing Co’s capture. 

Co, former chairperson of the appropriations committee, is at the center of a flood control corruption scandal that has touched nearly all corners of government. He quietly left the Philippines in mid-2025, or just as Marcos promised to hold accountable officials and contractors who had profited off substandard or non-existent flood control projects. 

The former Ako Bicol representative has since resigned from Congress and turned against Marcos, accusing him and his relatives in government of supposedly manipulating the national budget themselves. The Marcos administration has been trying to track down and bring Co home since late 2025, when his passports were canceled after arrest warrants were issued against him. 

Yet beyond confirming that Co had once been in Czech custody, neither envoy could provide any more information — according to Malacañang itself. 

Here’s what Castro had to say on April 30: 

• “Okay, noong sinabi po ito ng chargé d’affaires ng Czech Republic, iyon lamang po ang kinumpirma niya sa Pangulo, talagang na-detain si Mr. Zaldy Co sa Czech Republic dahil nga po sa invalid travel documents. At maliban po diyan, humihingi pa po ng iba pang pahayag or information ang ating Pangulo sa Czech Republic. Pero hindi na po napagbigyan ang Pangulo dahil sa may sinusunod ang Czech Republic na international law, European and national laws.” (The Czech Republic’s chargé d’affaires confirmed to the President that Mr. Zaldy Co was detained over invalid travel documents. The President also asked for further statements and information from the Czech Republic but they could not do so because they follow international law, European and national laws.) 
• “Kung pag-uusapan natin ang pagpapamadali ng pagbalik kay Zaldy Co, iyan po ay ibinigay na mensahe ng Pangulo sa Czech Republic at saka sa bansang France. At muli, ang sabi nila, hindi po sila makakapagbigay ng impormasyon lalo na’t kung may individual case for a political asylum.” (If we talk about the urgency of bringing Zaldy Co back to the Philippines, then that’s the message the President conveyed to the Czech Republic and France. Again, they said they would not be able to give further information especially if it’s an individual case for political asylum.) 

Marcos also expressed his “dismay” at the “unsatisfactory…result” because while the Philippines was coordinating with the Czech Republic when it had custody over Co, the flow of information “suddenly stopped.” 

Can Marcos really do nothing more to get more information? Answers — in the affirmative or negative — are unlikely to come from official channels, not the least through public press briefings by Malacañang Palace. 

After all, countries like France or the Czech Republic are obliged to follow laws that protect an individual — including those accused of corruption — and their privacy rights. It’s also not surprising for their envoys in Manila to project that commitment. 

Perhaps this is where diplomacy — especially the quiet, informal kind — will kick in. Can Manila find informal ways to get more information about Co, his whereabouts, and his exact status? – Rappler.com