Philippines seeks legal paths to bring flood scam suspect back from Portugal

By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter

THE Philippines is examining all legal options to bring home one of the alleged masterminds behind a multibillion-peso flood control scandal, as a formal extradition bid is unlikely without a treaty with Portugal, Interior Secretary Juanito Victor C. Remulla said on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. has ordered government agencies to study alternative avenues to repatriate former Party-list Rep. Elizaldy S. Co, Mr. Remulla said, citing approaches that could avoid the lengthy process of negotiating an extradition agreement with Lisbon.

“We are studying it because the situation is complicated,” he told reporters via teleconference in mixed English and Filipino. “We don’t have an extradition treaty with Portugal.”

Among the options being explored are coordination with international bodies such as the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, and the United Nations, he said.

Negotiating an extradition treaty is not being prioritized, Mr. Remulla added, noting that such agreements typically take years to conclude and ratify.

“A treaty will take too long,” he said. “That’s why the instruction is to study other ways to do this.”

Mr. Co, who used to head the House of Representatives appropriations committee, has been linked to irregularities in government-funded flood control projects.

Investigators have flagged, among others, a P289.5-million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Authorities have issued a warrant of arrest against Mr. Co for graft and malversation of public funds.

Mr. Remulla said officials are reviewing all possible mechanisms, including repatriation, while acknowledging that returning a suspect from a country without an extradition framework poses significant legal challenges.

“We will look at all avenues — and when we say all, we mean all — to make this happen,” he said.

Asked whether the case could mirror the return of former Negros Oriental Congressman Arnolfo A. Teves, Jr. from Timor-Leste, Mr. Remulla said that outcome hinged on a special accommodation by Timor-Leste’s president following direct talks with Mr. Marcos.

He said he was not aware of any comparable understanding between Manila and Lisbon.

“Extradition is almost impossible because we don’t have a treaty,” he said. “But there are other avenues we are studying so we can get him.”

The government’s focus is securing Mr. Co’s return rather than pursuing a formal extradition process, he added.

Josue Raphael J. Cortez, a diplomacy lecturer at the De La Salle-College of St. Benilde’s School of Diplomacy and Governance, said extradition requires a formal treaty and cannot rely solely on goodwill between states.

Extradition requires a treaty between countries that share common interests in combating similar crimes, he said in a Facebook Messenger chat. Acts must be criminal in both jurisdictions to qualify, while political and religious offenses are excluded under international law, he added.

Mr. Cortez said treaty negotiations typically begin with presidential approval and often take years, as governments work to balance legal standards and national interests.

“After rigorous negotiations and back-and-forth discussions on the provisions, in the case of the Philippines, we will have to secure the concurrence of the Legislature, particularly a two-thirds majority of the Senate, for such a treaty to take effect,” he said.

The case adds pressure on the Marcos administration to show progress in holding officials accountable for alleged misuse of public funds, particularly as flood control spending has come under heightened scrutiny following last year’s corruption revelations.