Zaldy Co was building a 5-story basement to store money—SILG Remulla
Former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co was allegedly in the process of building a five-story basement in his home in Forbes Park that was supposed to be used for storing large amounts of money, according to Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
Remulla's claim comes after investigations into Co's still unfinished house revealed plans for an unusually large basement.
"We always assume that it is for parking, but it is to our knowledge that it was going to be used for storage of money because fire goes upwards, so they put the money below in the lowest point of the house so that it won’t be harmed if there is a fire," he said in a press briefing.
"Ang Forbes Park ay may floor to area ratio but the floor to area ratio only covers the vertical. It doesn’t cover when it goes down," he added.
He noted that the only rational use of a five-story basement is "either a parking garage or a storage for money" as it's "very difficult to live in the basement."
Remulla said that they had gotten wind of the basement after reviewing Co’s applications with the Forbes Park village association and the Makati City government.
"Makukuha mo ‘yan sa applications nila sa village association at sa city, nakikita lahat ‘yan. On initial investigation, nakita ‘yung plans kasi kasama lahat ‘yan when you apply for building permit," he explained.
The construction of Co's house is currently delayed due to the former lawmaker's recent controversies regarding the flood control scandal. The Sandiganbayan has since declared him a fugitive after he fled the country in July and refused to come back to answer allegations of corruption.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. previously announced that an arrest warrant had been issued against Co, noting that the move was based on evidence laid out by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure and the Department of Public Works and Highways.
The Office of the Ombudsman filed graft and malversation cases against Co as well as several officials of the DPWH and Sunwest Inc. on Nov. 18 in connection with anomalies in a P289 million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro. The charges involved malversation of public funds through the falsification of public documents, violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and a co-violation of Section 3(h) of RA 3019.
Hearings at the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the ICI have revealed billions of pesos lost to corruption.
In November, Marcos told the public last month that there would be no happy holidays for officials involved, as he vowed jail time for them before the year ends.
