Navotas City Rep. Toby Tiangco is pushing the House of Representatives to conduct a public hearing to help accelerate the implementation of the arrest warrant against fugitive former businesman and Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co,
Tiangco filed House Resolution 808 urging the leadership of the House to convene the Committee of the Whole to hold a public inquiry in aid of legislation on the status of the arrest warrant against Co and to recommend possible legislative measures to ensure its enforcement.
“Hinahanap ba talaga natin si Zaldy Co? Marami ang nagtatanong kung bakit parang wala tayong sense of urgency na hanapin at panagutin ang isang big fish na gaya ni Co,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco said there is a need to establish clear guidelines on how arrest warrants should be enforced when the subject is outside Philippine jurisdiction. He cited the differing positions of the Department of the Interior and Local Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs regarding the implementation of Co’s arrest warrant.
The DILG earlier said the DFA is primarily responsible for ensuring that Co would face prosecution before Philippine courts. The DFA, however, clarified that enforcing legal processes against Co requires a “whole-of-government approach.”
“Ano ba talaga at sino ba dapat ang ahensyang dapat manguna sa mga kasong gaya nito?” Tiangco said.
The lawmaker also stressed the need to determine whether gaps in existing laws allow individuals with substantial resources to evade legal processes and hide in foreign jurisdictions that do not have extradition treaties with the Philippines.
“There appears to be a compelling need to determine whether existing laws sufficiently define institutional cooperation and accountability on the service and execution of warrants and bringing before our jurisdiction politically exposed persons who leave Philippine territory,” Tiangco said.
“The inability to immediately enforce an arrest warrant against a high-profile individual who is allegedly abroad raises serious policy questions as to which government agency bears primary responsibility for the execution of an arrest warrant, coordination with foreign jurisdictions, and engagement with international law-enforcement agencies,” he added.
Tiangco said the House inquiry would invite resource persons from several agencies, including the Department of Justice, Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Bureau of Immigration, and the Embassy of Portugal in the Philippines.
“Given the magnitude of the alleged flood control anomalies, there is a compelling need for the cooperation and active involvement of multiple agencies to effect legal process against fugitives from justice,” Tiangco said.
“Through this investigation, we hope to provide transparency, inspire public confidence, and promote institutional unity among agencies involved in Co’s arrest,” he added.