SANDIGANBAYAN ORDERS ATTACHMENT OF ZALDY CO’S PROPERTIES OVER FLOOD CONTROL CASE

The Sandiganbayan has issued a writ of preliminary attachment against 16 properties owned by fugitive former lawmaker Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects. In a resolution dated March 4, the court’s Fifth Division approved the prosecution’s request to secure assets worth about PHP215.331 million that could potentially be confiscated by the government. The properties covered include real estate located in Pasig City, Makati City, Quezon City, and Lipa City in Batangas. The case alleges that Co conspired with officials from the Department of Public Works and Highways Region 4-B and members of Sunwest Corp. to defraud the government in the construction of a road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. Prosecutors said the alleged fraud involved misdeclaring the length of steel sheet piles used in the project, embedding only three meters instead of the required twelve meters.