Metro Manila, Philippines – Three out of the nine multi-billion air assets registered to former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co were flown abroad at the height of the flood control controversy, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) said on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
In a statement, the CAAP said Co’s Gulfstream aircraft – with an estimated value of over P2 billion – has been in Singapore since Aug. 16. His two AgustaWestland helicopters, meanwhile, are currently in Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia after they were transported on Aug. 20 and September 11. Based on figures earlier provided by the Department of Public Works and Highways, AgustWestland aircrafts cost over 900 million each.
The agency earlier flagged a total of P4.7 billion air assets tied to the former House Appropriations Chairman under the Misibis Aviation and Development Corp., and Hi Tone Construction Development Corp. Hi Tone is one of the 15 contractors named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. as the firms that cornered the most number of flood control projects in the last three years.
The properties are subject for action of the Anti-Money Laundering Council.
In September, Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said the companies linked to Co attempted to remove three choppers from the official registry.
In a press briefing on Thursday, Oct. 30, CAAP director general Raul Del Rosario said the vehicles may not be available for sale even though the aircrafts were brought abroad.
“‘Di mabebenta talaga ang isang eroplano hanggang na-de-deregister doon sa bansa na kung saan siya unang inirehistro. Alinsunod po ‘yan sa international civil aviation organization. Isa lang ang nationality kumbaga ng isang eroplano. Hindi pwedeng dalawa,” he said, adding that they are in coordination with international counterparts to monitor the assets.[Translation: An aircraft really can’t be sold until it has been deregistered in the country where it was first registered. That’s in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organization. An aircraft has only one nationality, so to speak — it can’t have two.]Del Rosario said Co was not in the passenger manifest of the three aircrafts that were flown out of the country.
He said one of the aircrafts was used for a supposed medical evacuation.
Co has been out of the public eye since the flood control scandal blew up in late July. He stepped down as a lawmaker in September – the same day he was ordered to return to the country after going on a supposed medical leave.
