The National Bureau of Investigation has requested an Interpol Red Notice against former lawmaker Zaldy Co in connection with corruption cases involving a flood control project. The NBI confirmed the request was made as early as November 23, 2025, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that Co's passport has been cancelled. This forms part of a broader probe into anomalous projects by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
In November 2025, the Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation cases against Zaldy Co and 17 others from the DPWH Mimaropa and Sunwest Corporation over an anomalous flood control project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. The cases are pending with the Sandiganbayan, which has already issued warrants of arrest against all the accused.
NBI spokesperson Palmer Mallari confirmed on December 12, 2025, that the request for the Red Notice was made as early as November 23. A Red Notice is an international request to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, based on an arrest warrant from the requesting country.
Co, former chairperson of the House appropriations committee and owner of Sunwest Construction, has been out of the country since July 2025, the opening of the 20th Congress. He became the focal point of the scandal due to projects his firm secured worth billions while he held office.
On December 10, President Marcos announced that Co's passport has been cancelled and ordered the Philippine National Police and Department of Foreign Affairs to track him down. Recently, Co released videos accusing Marcos and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of inserting P100 billion in projects into the 2025 budget and receiving kickbacks, which Malacañang categorically denied.
Meanwhile, the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, led by Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, is set to wrap up its probe into flood control corruption to allow court cases to proceed. It has contributed to investigations by the Department of Justice and Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
The Independent Commission for Infrastructure continues probing 421 ghost flood control projects, narrowed down to 80 from the top 15 contractors. ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka stated it could continue for at least two more years, despite challenges like member resignations.
