00:00The long arm of the law has finally caught up with SunWest Corporation owner and former partless representative Elisaldi Ko,
00:07who sits in detention in a Czech Republic facility after a failed attempt to enter Germany given his canceled passport
00:14and lack of travel documents.
00:16Within a few weeks, the embattled Ko, the whale among the biggest fish in the flood control scam,
00:21will face a jury of his peers and be held account for his actions and role in the biggest corruption
00:27scandal in the nation's history.
00:29As we hear more from our Kenneth Pashente.
00:33After several months in hiding, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. himself confirmed that authorities have already arrested fugitive
00:41and former Accord vehicle partilist representative Elisaldi Ko, who has been tagged as one of the biggest figures behind alleged
00:49corruption in flood control projects.
00:51According to the President, Ko was intercepted at the German border after entering from Czech Republic.
00:57He was not allowed entry due to lack of proper documentation and was returned to Czech authorities where he is
01:03currently detained.
01:05The President emphasized that the government is in close coordination with the Czech government to ensure all legal processes are
01:11followed
01:12and to facilitate his return to the Philippines at the earliest possible time.
01:16While he has not yet been declared guilty, Malacanang said the President welcomed cause arrest,
01:22stressing that it is only right for him to be investigated, especially as he is considered a fugitive.
01:28Definitely. Dahil sabi nga po natin, ang utos po niya, managot ang dapat na managot.
01:34Kung isang tao po ay may warrant of arrest, fugitive, cancel the passport,
01:40sino po ang hindi matutuwa na ang isang taong fugitive ay maibabalik sa Pilipinas para managot.
01:46The palace was also asked about cause earlier statements linking the President to corruption issues
01:52and whether the President is prepared should he be mentioned in a possible way to call it all by Ko.
02:00Ang dapat tatanong dyan ay kung handa ba,
02:06kung sino, kung ha, hindi natin sinasabing siya ay guilty,
02:11kung sino ba yung kanyang mga nakasama.
02:14Ang Pangulo, ulitin po natin, ang siyang nagsimulang magpaimbestiga,
02:21flood control projects, siya ang nangunang magpaimbestiga ng diumanong korupsyon.
02:27Ang Pangulo ay handang makinig sa lahat na maaaring sabihin na mga taong involved at dapat na managot sa batas.
02:36Ko left the country in mid-2025, supposedly for medical treatment,
02:40but he never returned after the investigation into flood control projects was launched.
02:45The House of Representatives also cancelled his travel authority at the time in an effort to bring him back,
02:51but he later resigned from his post as representative.
02:54His Philippine passport was cancelled in December,
02:56but authorities said he used a foreign passport to stay abroad.
03:00Several arrest warrants have also been issued against him and other individuals
03:04in connection with the anomalous flood control projects in Oriental Mindoro.
03:09He was the former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations,
03:12which oversees the national budget.
03:15Kenneth Paciente
03:17From the National TV Network
03:19For a New and Better Philippines
03:21Peace.
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