Feelers from a Fugitive: Zaldy Co’s Priestly Whisper and the Rot That Echoes Back

When Your Get-Out-of-Jail Card Is Delivered by a Collar and a Rosary

By Louis ‘Barok‘ C. Biraogo — January 25, 2026

IT’S almost poetic, in the darkest Filipino way possible.

A fugitive former congressman—once a powerful cong-tractor—hides in a gated community in Lisbon, while billions in flood-control funds disappear into thin air. Now, he sends “feelers” to the Office of the Ombudsman through priests. Not a formal letter. Not a surrender notice. Just third-hand whispers from “a friend of a friend.”

This isn’t dialogue. This is kabuki theater for the corrupt, staged on a platform of ghost projects and funded by taxpayers who still drown every typhoon season.

Welcome to the Republic of Feelers, where accountability is whispered and justice arrives—if ever—fashionably late.

***“Surrender hotline: press 1 for priests, 2 for press con, 3 for Portugal.”***

The “Feelers” Farce: Evasion Dressed as Contrition

According to Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla, former Ako Bicol Party-List Representative Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co has reached out indirectly to Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, seeking “dialogue” via clerical intermediaries [Zaldy Co sends feelers to Ombudsman].

Let’s be clear: this is not genuine remorse.

It is a probe disguised as penitence—a tactical delay to gauge the political climate, a public relations stunt to appear cooperative, or a backchannel search for a soft landing. Routing overtures through priests adds a layer of moral camouflage while maintaining plausible deniability. Co’s own counsel has disowned the feelers as unauthorized.

Classic cong-tractor maneuver: leave no fingerprints, only vague ecclesiastical echoes.

Total Actor Evisceration

Zaldy Co: Mastermind, Not Mere Scapegoat

Co portrays himself as a scapegoat, claiming he merely followed higher orders for budget insertions. The evidence, however, reveals a central architect.

His family-linked Sunwest Construction secured contracts worth billions, including allegedly substandard or nonexistent flood-control projects in Oriental Mindoro valued at ₱289.5 million. A specific ₱96.5-million road dike project triggered graft and malversation charges now pending before the Sandiganbayan [Zaldy Co sends feelers to Ombudsman].

Seized luxury vehicles, rumored Portuguese citizenship, and a lavish lifestyle contradict any narrative of reluctant compliance. Accusations against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and House Speaker Martin Romualdez were dismissed by Malacañang as hearsay. Following illegal orders is not exculpation—it is complicity.

The Remulla Brothers: Familial Ties and Toxic Optics

Two brothers in pivotal roles: Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla receives the feelers; DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla announces them publicly, complete with a jest about prior bribery attempts.

When the chief graft prosecutor’s brother broadcasts unverified overtures from the primary suspect, the appearance of impartiality collapses. Jonvic’s quip about influence-peddling being so routine it merits humor reveals either tone-deafness or dangerous normalization.

The Supporting Cast

House Speaker allies deny insertions yet benefited from Sunwest projects in their districts. Implicated congressmen delay proceedings and cry persecution. Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials certified nonexistent works. Motivations remain consistent: containment, survival, and the hope that public outrage fades.

Legal Framework Dissection: Sharp Laws, Blunt Enforcement

The charges align precisely with the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act ([Republic Act No. 3019]):

Section 3(e) for causing undue injury through manifest partiality in substandard or ghost projects
Section 3(h) for prohibited financial interest via family-linked contractors

Malversation under Article 217 of the Revised Penal Code applies to the misappropriation through falsified documents.

Supreme Court jurisprudence provides decisive blades:

[Belgica v. Ochoa] struck down post-enactment congressional meddling in fund implementation
[Araullo v. Aquino] limited executive impoundment and realignment abuses

Procedurally, Co’s fugitive status bars him from judicial relief until surrender. Absent an extradition treaty with Portugal, recovery relies on diplomacy or Interpol notices—often futile.

Ethically, the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees ([Republic Act No. 6713]) demands simple living and conflict avoidance—standards spectacularly breached.

Systemic Corruption Autopsy: A Terminal Design Failure

This scandal is not an isolated malignancy but a symptom of institutionalized rot.

Opaque bicameral insertions, untraceable line items, blurred legislative-executive boundaries, and concentrated appropriations power enable the cong-tractor model. Flood-control projects—technically complex and geographically dispersed—offer ideal cover for theft.

Post-Belgica reforms failed to close the mutated loopholes. Mandatory project attribution, public conference records, independent technical reviews, and real-time Commission on Audit (COA) oversight remain unimplemented because the system functions precisely as its architects intend.

Motivations and Geopolitical Chess

Co seeks self-preservation—perhaps a plea deal or revenge testimony. The Remullas pursue legacy and political capital. The administration desires containment: loud prosecution of the expendable, quiet protection of the powerful. Portugal harbors a wealthy fugitive because resources speak louder than bilateral rhetoric.

Consequences and Possible Futures

Short-term: deepened cynicism, wasted billions, preventable flooding deaths.

Long-term: potential impeachment fireworks if Co testifies credibly, or reinforced impunity if he remains abroad. The 2028 elections will hinge on this terrain—anti-corruption credibility versus entrenched machinery.

Public trust hangs by a thread; another failed prosecution could sever it permanently.

Clarion Call from the Kweba

Enough whispers. Enough priestly intermediaries. Enough selective justice.

We demand:

Immediate, transparent, uncompromised investigation—insulated from familial optics and political calculation.
Full accountability for all implicated parties: Co, certifying officials, benefiting congressmen, and any higher architects the evidence reveals—no sacred cows.
Urgent enactment of systemic reforms: traceable insertions, public bicameral records, independent review panels, real-time audits, automatic lifestyle checks, and fast-track graft courts.
Radical return to pro-people governance where public funds build resilience for the vulnerable, not luxury fleets for the corrupt.

The Republic deserves justice—loud, public, and merciless.

While the powerful pray for feelers and the rest pray for rain,
I’ll keep lighting matches in the dark.

— Barok