THREE aircraft owned by companies linked to embattled former Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizalde “Zaldy” Co have left the country, the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (Caap) said on Wednesday, October 29, 2025.
In a statement, the Caap said an AgustaWestland helicopter flew to Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, on August 20, while another of its type flew to the same country on September 11.
It added that a Gulfstream aircraft has been in Singapore since August 16.
The agency assured that it continues to closely monitor all registered assets in accordance with the law.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) earlier asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to freeze billions worth of air assets of companies linked to Co and his brother Christopher amid their implication in anomalous flood control projects, including:
Misibis Aviation & Development Corp.:
Two AgustaWestland AW139 – $16 million each
Gulfstream 350 – $36 million
Two Bell 407 – $3 million each
Bell 206B3 – $650,000
Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.:
Cessna 414A Chancellor – $700,000
Agusta A109E – $6.9 million
PA 31-350 Chieftain – $340,000
QM Builders:
Bell 505 – $2 million
Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp. and QM Builders were among the top 15 construction firms that bagged 20 percent, or P100 billion worth, of flood control projects from 2022 to 2025.
Co, who resigned as a member of the House of Representatives in September, earlier denied involvement in irregularities in government flood control projects, particularly allegations that he received billions worth of kickbacks.
The former lawmaker is currently in an undisclosed country abroad and has refused to return to the Philippines to face the allegations against him.
The Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) earlier recommended the filing of graft, malversation, and falsification charges with the Office of the Ombudsman against Co and several others over the P289.5-million anomalous road dike project along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)