NBI seeks Interpol red notice for ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co
by Ian Laqui · philstarMANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has requested an Interpol red notice on former lawmaker Zaldy Co.
According to an interview by the STAR on Friday, December 12, NBI spokesperson Palmer Mallari said that the bureau sent a request for an Interpol red notice to the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime on November 23.
An Interpol red notice is a request to law enforcement agencies in Interpol-member countries to locate and arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action.
It is not, however, an international arrest warrant.
The bureau requested the Interpol red notice against Co after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest against the former lawmaker and several others over the alleged ghost flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.
Nine of Co’s co-accused were arrested and already detained.
On December 10, the Sandiganbayan declared Co and three other individuals as “fugitive from justice,” citing the findings of Ombudsman prosecutors establishing that Co intended to evade prosecution.
Along with Co, the passports of Aderma Angelie Alcazar, Cesar Buenaventura, and Noel Cao were also cancelled, according to a separate Sandiganbayan resolution dated December 10. — with reports from the STAR/Mark Villeza