Video shows Philippines public works official's arrest in graft scandal, not fugitive ex-lawmaker
- Published on December 31, 2025 at 08:45
- 2 min read
- By Purple ROMERO, AFP Hong Kong
Philippine police issued an arrest warrant for former congressman Elizaldy Co on graft charges related to a major flood control project scandal in November 2025, but a video circulating on social media does not show him being apprehended. Local authorities told AFP Co has not been arrested and remains outside the country. The footage in fact shows another suspect in the graft scandal being escorted to court.
The video of a man wearing a mask and a black hoodie being escorted by policemen to a white vehicle and later to a courtroom was shared on Facebook on December 7.
"Breaking news Zaldy co arrested," reads Tagalog and English-language sticker text over the clip.
Co is among scores of construction firm owners, government officials and lawmakers accused of pocketing funds in a sweeping corruption scandal over bogus flood control projects that has sparked public ire in the Philippines (archived link).
Police attempted to serve an arrest warrant against Co at his condominium in Taguig City on November 22 but he was not there (archived link).
A Philippine anti-graft court declared Co a "fugitive from justice" on December 10, while the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said they have received reports Co is in hiding in Portugal while holding a Portuguese passport (archived here and here).
Similar claims about Co's purported arrest circulated elsewhere on Facebook and TikTok.
But the DILG told AFP on December 29 that the reports of Co's supposed detention are "inaccurate".
"He is currently outside the country and no physical arrest has been effected," the department said.
Meanwhile, the circulating video in fact shows the detention of another person accused in the scandal.
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches on Google led to a video report published by local media organisation ABS-CBN News on November 26 (archived link).
The footage shows another person accused of graft in the flood control project scandal, Department of Public Works and Highways engineer Montrexis Tamayo, being escorted by policemen to the anti-graft court that later ordered his transfer to the Quezon City Jail.
Similar videos have also been published by media organisations GMA News and DWAR Abante Radyo (archived here and here).
AFP has previously debunked other misinformation about the ghost government projects.
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