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Zaldy Co, DPWH execs charged over Oriental Mindoro flood projects
The Ombudsman has filed corruption and malversation charges before the Sandiganbayan against former Ako-Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co, DPWH Region 4B officials, and Sunwest Corporation directors.
These charges stem from an allegedly anomalous P289 million flood control project, specifically a road dike along the Mag-asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro, funded under the 2024 DPWH national budget.
Prosecutors claim the flood control project, undertaken by Sunwest Corporation (a firm owned by Co's family), is substandard and potentially non-existent.
The specific charges include malversation of public funds through falsification of public documents, violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and co-violation of Section 3(h) of RA 3019.
This marks the first criminal case filed in connection with the flood control kickback scheme, with the Independent Commission for Infrastructure filing the complaint in September 2025.
The Ombudsman assured the public that this is the first of many cases to be filed, with several more in the preliminary investigation and fact-finding stages.
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Former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co has denied receiving funds from alleged insertions in the national budget for flood-control projects, claiming the money was given to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
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Former Public Works and Highways undersecretary Roberto Bernardo has implicated former Secretary Manuel Bonoan and several other lawmakers in an alleged kickback scheme involving infrastructure projects.
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Former Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co accused President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of receiving P56 billion in kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects.
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Lawyer Eldridge Marvin Aceron filed graft, technical malversation, falsification of public documents, and fraud against public treasury charges against Senator Francis Escudero and several Sorsogon provincial officials concerning alleged misuse of provincial funds amounting to P352 million in 2021.
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The Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) has again urged the Ombudsman to file administrative cases against former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, including ex-Secretary Manuel Bonoan, for alleged irregularities in a P74 million project.
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