RESIGNED congressman Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co is staying in an upscale property in Paris, as he seeks political asylum in France, Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla said on Friday.
Speaking at a media forum, Remulla said Co is residing along the Champs-Élysées, one of French capital’s most exclusive districts.
“He has a house on th e Champs-Élysées with 10 bedrooms, near Christian Dior. That’s where he is staying now,” he said.
Remulla estimated the property’s value at around 200 million euros.
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is the featured guest during the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel in Manila on May 8, 2026. Remulla expressed confidence that authorities would still be able to arrest former congressman Zaldy Co despite his application for political asylum in France. Officials are currently awaiting the issuance of an Interpol red notice against the former lawmaker. PHOTOS BY RENE DILAN
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is the featured guest during the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel in Manila on May 8, 2026. Remulla expressed confidence that authorities would still be able to arrest former congressman Zaldy Co despite his application for political asylum in France. Officials are currently awaiting the issuance of an Interpol red notice against the former lawmaker. PHOTOS BY RENE DILAN
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is the featured guest during the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel in Manila on May 8, 2026. Remulla expressed confidence that authorities would still be able to arrest former congressman Zaldy Co despite his application for political asylum in France. Officials are currently awaiting the issuance of an Interpol red notice against the former lawmaker. PHOTOS BY RENE DILAN
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is the featured guest during the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel in Manila on May 8, 2026. Remulla expressed confidence that authorities would still be able to arrest former congressman Zaldy Co despite his application for political asylum in France. Officials are currently awaiting the issuance of an Interpol red notice against the former lawmaker. PHOTOS BY RENE DILAN
Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla is the featured guest during the Kapihan ng Samahang Plaridel in Manila on May 8, 2026. Remulla expressed confidence that authorities would still be able to arrest former congressman Zaldy Co despite his application for political asylum in France. Officials are currently awaiting the issuance of an Interpol red notice against the former lawmaker. PHOTOS BY RENE DILAN
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He said Co applied for political asylum in France last week.
“You can only file [for asylum] once. For [former presidential spokesman] Harry Roque, he only applied in Vienna. You cannot apply again in another place. So he can only apply in France,” Remulla said.
Philippine and French authorities are already in communication regarding Co’s asylum bid.
“There are conversations going on to that effect,” he said.
The disclosure on Co’s whereabouts and asylum application came as Remulla confirmed that the Philippine government’s request for an International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Red Notice against the former lawmaker remains pending six months after it was filed.
He said the request was submitted in September through the Presidential Commission for Transnational Crimes, but Interpol has yet to act on it.
“It turns out that the laws in the Philippines and Interpol are different. As long as there is even a slight political inclination, they delay it,” Remulla said.
Despite the delay, he is confident the notice would eventually be issued.
Remulla also detailed Co’s earlier movements in Europe, confirming that he was detained for 36 hours at the border of the Czech Republic and Germany.
He said he personally informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the incident, that Co was stopped by immigration authorities while attempting to enter Germany, and was brought to Prague.
“He was detained for 36 hours. I was the one who informed the President of his capture. The DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) and DOJ (Department of Justice) took the lead,” he said.
Remulla said Co presented an expired Philippine passport during the incident, contrary to earlier speculation that he had used a Portuguese passport.
He added that government counsel was already en route to Prague when Co was released following court proceedings with a lawyer he had hired.
“It was an immigration violation because his passport had already expired,” Remulla said.
He said efforts to secure Co’s return are ongoing, including diplomatic coordination and continued engagement with Interpol.
“If I could just kneel in front of Interpol to get the Red Notice, I would do it. I’ve already spoken with the vice president of Interpol, the chairman has not yet. We’re trying our best,” he said.
He said the Red Notice remains key to bringing Co back to the Philippines and dismissed concerns that the asylum application could derail efforts.
“Let’s prioritize the Red Notice first. We will get him before his asylum application is finished. I am confident that before it is completed, we will already have Zaldy,” he said.
In a Messenger chat to The Manila Times on Friday, Kiko Aquino-Dee, a co-convenor of Tindig Pilipinas and one of the organizers of the Trillion Pesos March last year, said Co’s bid for asylum in France “weakens” the credibility of the Marcos administration.
“It seems too much of a coincidence to me that his escape came soon after Martin Romualdez’s implied threat to implicate the current administration in the flood control scam. Did his implied threat work?” Aquino-Dee said.
“Regardless, his (Co’s) escape I think further weakens the administration’s credibility on anti-corruption, and the only way for them to recover would still be to make sure that he comes home safely and testifies freely on the flood control scam,” he said.