Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District)*
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co should come home and face the music, Rep. Javier Miguel Benitez (Neg. Occ., 3rd District) said on Friday, Sept. 19.
House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III revoked Co’s travel clearance on Thursday and ordered his return to the country within 10 days from receipt of the notice, Benitez said.
“Failure to comply with this directive within the prescribed period shall be construed as a refusal to subject yourself to the lawful processes of the House of Representatives and may result in the initiation of appropriate disciplinary and legal actions,” Dy said in his notice to Co.
Co is accused of corruption, specifically for his alleged role in a multi-billion-peso flood control program scandal involving anomalous budget insertions, kickbacks, and links to a construction firm he founded, which he has denied.
Benitez said Co should come home because “this is an urgent national issue and he has a responsibility to the people.”
There are reports that Co “is in the United States, but there are also some reports that he is somewhere else so we’re not entirely sure,” Benitez said.*