Zaldy Co, others face new graft, malversation raps over P77-million ‘ghost’ flood project

Rep. Elizaldy Co speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony of the ALECO Cullat Substation in February 2025.

Rep. Elizaldy Co via Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — The Office of the Ombudsman has filed another set of malversation and graft charges against fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co before the Sandiganbayan.

In a statement on Friday, August 28, the Ombudsman filed the charges over the P77-million alleged anomalous flood control project in Balagtas, Bulacan.

Others also included in the Ombudsman’s charges are officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways:

• Henry Alcantara
• Brice Hernandez
• Arjay Domasig
• Jaypee Mendoza
• Niño Lawrence Morales
• Juanito Mendoza
• Floralyn Simbulan
• Christina Mae Del Rosario Pineda

Co’s staff members, John Paul Estrada and Mark Tecsay, were also charged.

The case centers on a project for the construction of a riverbank protection structure along the Balagtas River in Barangay San Juan, Balagtas, Bulacan.

The said project was awarded to SYMS Construction Trading. The revised contract was valued at approximately P77.2 million.

According to the Ombudsman, the project commenced on Feb. 24, 2025, and was certified as 100% complete by May 2, 2025.

However, a subsequent physical inspection revealed that the flood-control structure was entirely nonexistent.

The Ombudsman pointed to an "implied conspiracy" among the accused, detailing how kickbacks collected by Alcantara from contractors were allegedly delivered in advance to Co.

In exchange, Co ensured the insertion of the project into the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and its subsequent funding in the General Appropriations Act.

"Co’s participation was therefore necessary or indispensable in this elaborate scheme of embezzling funds intended for flood control projects," the Ombudsman’s statement read.

“The modus did not end after the delivery of the advance payment to Co. The project was eventually awarded to SYMS which was owned by Santos. However, and which is apparent in the scheme used by the respondents, there was no intention to actually complete the project,” the ruling added.

The anti-graft body also pointed out that the officials who were tasked with inspecting, auditing and approving the project repeatedly failed to perform their duties.

The agency noted that these oversight failures were far too systematic to be brushed off as simple oversights or isolated mistakes.

“Here, respondents acted with evident bad faith and/or gross inexcusable negligence when they issued the pertinent documents and certifications that led to the diversion of public funds… for a project that turned out to be non-existent or incomplete. The repeated failure to exercise due diligence is very telling,” the Ombudsman said.

The malversation case was raffled to the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, while the graft case was raffled to the Fifth Division.

Partial dismissals

While proceeding with the graft and malversation charges, the Ombudsman dismissed the charge for violation of Section 3(b) of RA 3019, or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, against Co, Alcantara, Estrada, and Tecsay due to lack of probable cause.

Meanwhile, a separate perjury charge against SYMS contractor Sally Santos was referred back to the Department of Justice for proper disposition.

Co, who is currently at large, is also facing graft and malversation charges before the Sandiganbayan for the P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.