Witness: I saw ‘maleta’ in Co’s office when he was not yet solon

MANILA, Philippines — A prosecution witness told the Sandiganbayan on Monday that he personally saw four “maleta” (suitcases) in Co’s office back when he was still a businessman and not yet a member of the House of Representatives.

Larry Bellen, who worked as an executive aide of ex-Ako Bicol representative beginning in 2018, made this known when he testified before the anti-graft court during the bail hearing of Romualdez, who faces a plunder case stemming from alleged kickbacks from infrastructure projects worth P7.44 billion.

READ: Video of alleged suitcases in Romualdez’s Forbes home shown in court

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Co is also a co-accused in this plunder case.

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Bellen said he heard that Co’s staff were ordered to deposit the contents of the suitcases in the bank.

No further details were said regarding these suitcases.

Before becoming a lawmaker, Co co-founded Sunwest Construction and Development Corp., an Albay-based multi-billion-peso business conglomerate, primarily engaged in infrastructure and civil works construction.

READ: The congressman and the billions: Tracing the power of Zaldy Co

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Meanwhile, Bellen said Romualdez supposedly urged ex-Co to run to become a party-list nominee. He later became Ako Bicol’s first nominee in 2019.

Bellen said he heard from Co’s wife the supposed encouragement of Romualdez.

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However, he acknowledged that he never personally heard Romualdez make such a request.

He also confirmed that he had never heard any conversation between Romualdez and Co.

Although Co received telephone calls, the witness said he did not know who the callers were.

Furthermore, he said he had no knowledge of any telephone call from Romualdez.

Co became the chair of the powerful House committee on appropriations during Romualdez’s stint as Speaker. He later resigned as a lawmaker in September last year, after being linked to the flood control corruption scandal.

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The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division declared Co a fugitive from justice. /cb