Lacson to invite Co, Romualdez to next flood control hearing

Metro Manila, Philippines - Now that Zaldy Co has resigned as congressman, he will now be summoned to the next Senate hearing on alleged anomalies in flood control projects, while a formal request will be sent to the House of Representatives for the attendance of its former speaker, Rep. Martin Romualdez.

Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, made the announcement on Tuesday, September 30.

Previously, Lacson explained that he cannot invite Co—who has been out of the country since the corruption scandal broke—due to inter-parliamentary courtesy, unless the lawmaker voluntarily appeared.

However, Co resigned on Monday, making him subject to a subpoena and possible arrest should he ignore the Senate’s invitation.

“Papadalhan namin siya ng invitation letter sa kanyang address. Now alam naman nating sa abroad siya so ‘di yan sisipot. Pag ‘di siya dumating, ipapadala namin ang subpoena. At pag hindi sumipot, may show-cause order,” Lacson said in a television interview.

[Translation: We will send him an invitation letter to his address. Now we know he’s abroad, so he likely won’t show up. If he doesn’t, we’ll send a subpoena. If he still doesn’t appear, we’ll issue a show-cause order.]

“Kapag hindi satisfactory ang show cause order, ipapa-contempt namin siya at pa-issue-han namin siya ng warrant of arrest,” he added.

[Translation: If his explanation is unsatisfactory, we will cite him in contempt and request the issuance of an arrest warrant.]

As for Romualdez, Lacson said the invitation will be formally relayed through House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III "in observation of the time-honored inter-parliamentary courtesy between the two houses of Congress,” Lacson said.

“Kaya wala tayong pinagtatakpan dito [We are not covering up for anyone],” Lacson said.

There is no set date yet for the next hearing as the committee is still awaiting developments.

The previous six hearings have featured bombshell testimonies from government officials and contractors, who claimed that several lawmakers received kickbacks from flood control projects.

Co is linked to the largest budget insertions — totaling ₱35.024 billion — from which he supposedly received 20–30% in kickbacks per project. He has denied the allegations and vowed to debunk them when he returns to the country.

Romualdez, meanwhile, was implicated by retired Marine Orly Regala Guteza, who claimed to have delivered suitcases of cash to the then-Speaker’s residences while serving as one of Co’s security aides. Romualdez has dismissed the accusation as “pure fiction.”