The Philippine Senate’s Blue Ribbon Committee moved on Monday to compel the appearance of former party-list legislator Zaldy Co and retired sergeant Orly Guteza, ordering the issuance of show cause orders after both men failed to attend a resumed inquiry into alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.
The committee action, taken on January 19, 2026, escalates a high-stakes investigation that has already produced arrest warrants and corruption charges over a controversial P289 million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro. Senators said the absence of two central figures threatened to stall efforts to establish accountability for what they described as a pattern of waste and alleged graft in public infrastructure spending.
Subpoenas Ignored Despite Clear Warnings
According to the committee, both Co and Guteza were served subpoenas ad testificandum, signed by Senate President Vicente Sotto III, directing them to testify at the hearing. All other subpoenaed individuals appeared, including former Department of Public Works and Highways officials and private sector witnesses.
Instead, Co and Guteza neither appeared nor sent legal representatives.
Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo Lacson, who chairs the Blue Ribbon Committee, reminded members that Senate powers to compel testimony had recently been reinforced by the Supreme Court.
“In deference to the latest Supreme Court ruling, let’s first issue a show-cause order. If the response is unsatisfactory, we will cite them for contempt and eventually issue arrest warrants,” Lacson said during the hearing.
Sotto echoed the warning, noting that non-compliance carries consequences under long-standing Senate practice. “Those who did not respond…perhaps we may discuss it with the members of the committee for us to either ask for a show cause or issue a warrant of arrest for not responding to the subpoena of the Senate. We’ve done this before numerous times,” he said.
Flood Control Projects Under the Microscope
The inquiry focuses on alleged anomalies in flood control projects implemented by the DPWH, with particular attention on the Oriental Mindoro road dike project, a vital structure meant to protect communities from seasonal flooding.
Instead of acting as a shield, senators say the project has become a symbol of how public works can be weaponised for private gain. In November 2025, arrest warrants were issued against Co, several DPWH officials, and directors of Sunwest Corp., the contractor linked to the project.
The Office of the Ombudsman has since filed cases for corruption and malversation of public funds before the Sandiganbayan, citing alleged violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
For residents of flood-prone provinces such as Oriental Mindoro and Bulacan, senators said, these allegations are not abstract. Delayed or poorly executed flood control works leave farms submerged, roads unusable, and families vulnerable each typhoon season—turning corruption into a daily, lived hardship.
Whistleblower Testimony Now in Question
Guteza, a retired police sergeant who previously worked as Co’s security detail, first drew national attention in September 2025 when he testified before the committee. Introduced by Senator Rodante Marcoleta, Guteza claimed he personally delivered bags of cash—described as “trash”—to residences linked to House Speaker Martin Romualdez in Pasig and Taguig.
He alleged that the money, allegedly running into hundreds of millions of pesos per delivery, came from kickbacks tied to flood control allocations.
Since then, Guteza’s sudden absence from the very inquiry he helped ignite has raised concerns among lawmakers. Lacson cautioned against mistaking accusations for proof.
“Your noise will not silence the truth. Neither does it provide any help in our investigation. Your noise cannot convict and won’t even indict the malefactors in this flood control mess. Only evidence does,” he said in his opening statement.
Zaldy Co’s Denials and Counter-Accusations
Co, a former representative of the Ako Bicol party-list, has not appeared publicly before the Senate since arrest warrants were issued. Authorities have said he is believed to be abroad, with Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla previously suggesting he may be in Portugal.
In video statements released after November 2025, Co denied wrongdoing and instead accused Romualdez and even President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of benefiting from kickbacks. In those videos, he sought to bolster Guteza’s claims by displaying photographs of cash-filled luggage.
Senators, however, stressed that such claims—absent sworn testimony and documentary corroboration—carry no legal weight.
What Comes Next
The show cause orders will require Co and Guteza to explain why they should not be cited in contempt of the Senate. Under Senate rules and recent jurisprudence, failure to provide a satisfactory explanation may lead to the issuance of arrest warrants to compel their attendance.
As witnesses from the DPWH and the private sector continue to testify, the committee signalled it would not allow the investigation to be sidetracked by absences, counter-allegations, or political noise.
For communities that measure government failure not in headlines but in flooded homes and ruined crops, senators said, the stakes remain painfully clear: whether the Senate can cut through denial and deflection to expose how money meant to hold back rising waters may have instead washed away into private pockets.
