MANILA – Former lawmaker Zaldy Co has filed a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the Office of the Ombudsman’s resolution indicting him for graft and malversation in connection with an alleged ghost project in Oriental Mindoro.

Co filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition on January 25, asking the Supreme Court to annul the Ombudsman resolution. He is also seeking a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction to prevent the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan from proceeding with criminal cases while the high court reviews the legality of the indictment.

In his petition, Co argued that the Ombudsman acted in an “arbitrary, despotic, and capricious manner” by disregarding an interim report from the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), which reportedly did not recommend his indictment.

He further claimed he was deprived of due process, saying he was never served a subpoena via registered mail and was denied access to case records despite repeated requests.

Co also disputed the Ombudsman’s finding of “beneficial ownership” in contracting firm Sunwest, Inc., saying he divested his interests in the company as early as May 2020 and was no longer a shareholder when the contract in question was executed.

He clarified that his absence from the Philippines during the initial hearings was due to official medical leave for a heart ailment and not an attempt to evade prosecution. The Sandiganbayan, which declared Co a fugitive from justice, had issued an arrest warrant against him in November 2025.

Co’s petition also noted that his apostille was completed in Sweden, where he personally appeared before a Swedish notary public who verified his identity and witnessed the signing of legal documents connected to the petition.