Zaldy Co Now in France: Can the Government Still Bring Him Back? | Lito Banayo | At the Forefront

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[00:00:12]Former lawmaker Zaldiko is now in France seeking political asylum there. Will the government be able to catch up with him this time? Good morning. I'm attorney Karen Himeo and this is At the Forefront.

[00:00:36]After failing to apprehend him in Prague, the government reports former lawmaker Zaldiko is now in France where he has applied for political asylum.

[00:00:47]Part of efforts to capture him is the government's push for a red notice by the Interpol against Co. Will the government finally get him and bring him back to the country? To answer for flood control anomalies and other cases against him. To answer this and other issues, we'll be speaking with political strategist Leto Banayo. Good morning, Leto.

[00:01:10]>> Good morning, Attorney Karen. A pleasure to be here. Okay, so let's start with the press con held by Malakanyang yesterday where Palace press officer Clare Casho announced that Zaldiko is in France >> citing confirmation by the foreign affairs department. So how can the government know that he's now in France and yet we ended up sending the acting DOJ secretary along with the Philippine mission to the Czech Republic to Prague.

[00:01:42]Where did the lapse in coordination happen?

[00:01:44]>> Well, there I suppose there have been a series of lapses. No, to begin with, where did the president get the information that Saliko was apprehended at the border of Germany and the Czech Republic? No, normally that should have been uh in I mean he should have been informed by our ambassador uh in Prague. Our ambassador there is a 30 year I mean has a a long career diplomatic career 30 years in office he's been in Japan Iran the Netherlands even the UN mission in New York so he knows how how these things uh are um uh done and uh normally being the alter ego of the president in uh the Czech Republic he would have been the first to be informed by the Czech officials or authorities that a Filipino was in their custody.

[00:02:43]>> Mhm.

[00:02:44]>> So, did he relay it to the DFA secretary and the did the DFA secretary relay it to the president for the president to make that announcement by himself?

[00:02:54]>> Yeah.

[00:02:55]>> No, normally that should have been the protocol should have been the DFA secretary. No, in this case. So, that's the first thing. Uh who informed the president? Was it the ambassador or somebody else? Second, uh the ambassador should have known under normal circumstances whether um under the laws of the Czech Republic, someone apprehended for having um uh irregular um passport or travel documents, how long he can be detained? No.

[00:03:34]So why did we have to send the DOJ secretary to begin with?

[00:03:37]>> You preempted my next question.

[00:03:40]You're a former ambassador yourself. So in this case, we ended up sending the DOJ acting secretary and a Philippine mission. Yes.

[00:03:49]>> Only to have a press con later for them to say that the Czech authorities refused to provide further information on the status of Zadiko or how or why he was released.

[00:04:01]>> Yeah. The data privacy laws in uh the Czech Republic and practically all of Europe are very strict. And in fact, when the president announced that I immediately looked at the laws of uh the Czech Republic and uh it really is quite difficult. No, I mean compared to ours.

[00:04:20]No, I mean I remember when I was in Taiwan for instance, there was a similar incident. Um, Ricardo Ardot Parohog of the supposed Kuratong Balen and drug dealing uh, family in Osami city was apprehended in Pingdong which is the southernmost county of Taiwan uh because he had um, one falsified his uh, identity and had fake immigration I mean fake uh, passport. No. So immediately we were informed by the Taiwanese authorities uh that there is this Filipino by the name of Ricardo Ardot Parohog and the brother of Ronaldo Parro who was uh killed in an encounter with the police early on. This was in 2017.

[00:05:16]>> So I called up Malakanyang. I called up >> You were the tech ambassador.

[00:05:20]>> Yeah, I was the de facto ambassador no in Taiwan. So I called up Malakanyang and asked to talk to the president himself and I informed him and said um well under under their laws here he could be detained. No because he violated their laws by having a falsified identity and fake uh uh travel documents. No. So I said, "Would you want me, sir, to expedite the process so that he can be immediately transferred to the Philippines?" No. And he said, "No, no, just follow their their uh laws." No, after all, he's already detained. That's all right. So that was what happened. So it took about 3 months or two two more than two months before he was eventually repatriated here. the police officers u I forget the name of the arresting officer came to Taiwan and escorted him back to the Philippines. So no. Uh >> so you're saying there was no need to send the DOJ acting secretary first >> unless he had a special mission from the president. No or or from from whoever.

[00:06:33]No, but he's the acting DOJ secretary.

[00:06:35]Unless there were some instructions other than apprehending him and I mean getting him apprehended and sent back to the Philippines.

[00:06:43]>> And by that do you mean I mean, I would surmise. No. Uh, second, Attorney Karen. Uh please take note of the fact that right after the president made that announcement about uh his apprehension in Czech Republic um 2 days or so later uh speaker former speaker Martin Raldez came out uh publicly uh and uh said that he was being or for so many in so many words was alluding to what he suspected to be being thrown under the bus.

[00:07:25]>> No. Uh stemming from the the the ombbudsman's request that he be given a precautionary uh full departure order.

[00:07:36]>> This fact despite the fact that he had a travel authority from the speaker of the house, no.

[00:07:42]>> Uh to go to Singapore for a medical uh furlow or medical checkup.

[00:07:48]>> Mhm. So that was where he he said now, you know, he's not going to >> go down, >> leave quietly and go down alone. No. uh it is possible that he may have reacted to the threat that Salico would be coming back and uh and that's where you tie up the presence or the the sending the DOJ secretary maybe because remember and this is Another strange thing no when uh Saliko came out with this series of um >> revelations >> revelations he pointed to the president himself. No. So I at that time what came to my mind was political asylum in Europe. Now at that time I thought it was Portugal. We also do not have an extradition treaty. Well, there is no extradition treaty at all in Portugal with any country.

[00:08:59]>> No. So every and everybody was saying he was in Portugal. Yeah.

[00:09:03]>> We we never really established that fact despite the fact that we also have an embassy in Portugal. No. So reason to say when he gets back to the Philippines, his life may be in danger.

[00:09:21]So laying the predicate predicate for for >> applying for asylum which came true because USA Clair Casio said that based on information they have Zaldiko is now applying for asylum in France.

[00:09:37]>> I would think he applied for asylum even before he went to the Czech Republic from um why was he released >> by the Czech authorities immediately?

[00:09:52]Because if if you the problem is the lack of travel documents or valid travel documents no >> such as an expired passport secretary vida what he presented was an expired uh passport unless uh well we don't know what his business was in the Czech Republic no properties for We know.

[00:10:22]>> Yeah. But interesting no uh all of this just gives rise to more questions rather than any answers.

[00:10:28]>> Uh well according to you clair Castro President Bombong Marcos will meet with ambassadors of France and Czech Republic later this afternoon >> and they are expected to discuss possible lapses that enabled Zaldi co to evade Philippine authorities in Prague and how to bring him back from France.

[00:10:47]Um, with France not being among the countries that the Philippines has an extradition treaty with, what do you think would be possibilities or other types of um, methods to bring him back to the Philippines?

[00:11:03]>> Well, um, talking to the ambassadors of the Czech Republic and in this case more France because episode Czech, so it's now France.

[00:11:17]um would probably be u some kind of uh uh diplomatic move on the part of uh the president or the DFA secretary to uh get them to cooperate in uh uh transferring or rather surrendering um uh this guy Zaldico to the Philippine authorities. No, but then again, one has to remember that this goes the the the the petition for a political asylum goes to the judicial system of France. And as far as I know, the judicial, you know, the separation of powers in France and in most European countries is very strict. Mhm.

[00:12:04]>> The president, even president Emanuel Maccron would not dare talk to the judge or the the court whoever is a court official handling the petition for political asylum to deny the political asylum. No, in the same way that you know Harry Rock is still in Vienna, no. uh with a petition for political asylum and unless it is rejected he will stay in Vienna for >> but speaking of Harry Rocky Harry Rock was quick to refute President B Marcos's uh statement that Zaldiko was either arrested or apprehended uh s Czech Republic s Prague >> do you think that Haro was right before when he said that Zaldiko was never arrested in Prague possibly because from what I've heard he was detained or rather he was restrained of liberty >> that's what the DOJ >> for only 48 hours or 2 days >> and 2 days after April 16 apprehend April 18 >> he was he was free to go wherever he wanted no >> and so he probably went to Paris we we don't know or he's back in Portugal wherever he is we do we really do not know at this point in time no but you know These are these are strange strange talaga clarity. But speaking of strange strange because again everyone got excited when the president himself made the announcement that Zaldiko was I think the word used was apprehended in Prague or held in custody. Well, now I'm being careful. Arrested by. But for a long time, everyone was using the word arrested according to President Bombbo Marcos supposedly. But uh days after that, the DOJ clarified and softened that language and they said that um this was merely an intervention by the Czech Republic and the term arrest only applies when a country has jurisdiction over an individual.

[00:14:11]And by by Friday last week, Malakanyang said that there was no contradiction between the statements of the president and DOJ. But for me, the fact that you have to clarify now contradiction means that in the in the minds of a lot of people may contradictions. So >> Cavaliers Cavaliers of the PMA would call this quibbling.

[00:14:32]>> Quibbling.

[00:14:33]>> Quibbling. That's the term that they that the military often use for excuses given. No. But that something else strikes me as very strange. No, according to the DOJ acting secretary, we applied for an interpol red notice with the interpol for a red notice to be uh uh spread out uh in order to be able to apprehend Zaldico in November. I think November 25 or 24 was the date and it has not been granted up to now. So there was no reason for the Czech authorities also to hold him because there was no red notice.

[00:15:10]>> Yes. And I remember uh Secretary Vida also mentioned that that the Czech authorities pointed to the lack of an Interpol red notice or an international warrant of arrest.

[00:15:20]>> Yeah. There there was no international warrant. There was no red notice from Interpol. So I can only put one and one and two together.

[00:15:29]uh Interpol recklessly when we made Interpol and we said we said that we were following Interpol and not the ICC when we surrendered uh former president Rodrigo Duterte to the Hague no to the ICC no so par if if you're in the interpole you'd be very careful about this because the arrest of uh President President Duterte was international news. No, it was big all over Europe and all over the world for that matter. Now, here comes uh this another fugitive of Philippine justice called uh uh Zaldico.

[00:16:13]You be very careful before you give uh a red notice. No. Uh that's why they're saying they they they were they submitted documents. They were asked to submit more documents.

[00:16:23]It shouldn't normally, if it was a case of graft and corruption, plunder for that matter, it shouldn't normally take uh >> so you're saying five months since Interpol when it comes to the Philippines because of what happened with >> with the way the Interpol was used.

[00:16:42]We're following Interpol, not ICC. But it turned out that time that uh there was no interpolate notice but only a diffusion >> a diffusion request from the ICC to uh just to determine his whereabouts.

[00:16:54]That's all.

[00:16:55]>> Yeah. Okay. So just yesterday the secretary John Vic Remoleia apologized for his earlier statement that co could be deported back to the Philippines in 1 to 3 weeks from the time that he was allegedly detained in the Czech Republic. So, this seems to compound the government's blunder surrounding Zaldico. How can the president better handle this matter? But before you answer this question, we'll have to take a short break. At the forefront, we'll be right back.

[00:17:36]Welcome back at the forefront. And we continue our conversation with political strategist Leto Banayo. Leto, yesterday Secretary John Vicramulia publicly apologized for his earlier statement that Zaldiko could be deported back to the Philippines in 1 to three weeks following his alleged detention in the Czech Republic. This seems to compound the government's blunder surrounding the apprehension of Zaldiko.

[00:18:05]What could the president do differently or better to manage the situation?

[00:18:12]>> Um, frankly, I think he should tell the public the truth about where he got the information that uh Zaldiko was uh detained or restrained of liberty as the DOJ wants to put it. No. Um, and why he was there.

[00:18:31]uh without that the mystery is still there.

[00:18:36]No, I can understand uh John Vikrama's uh statement because he thought it was an ordinary u you know uh immigration problem. No, they caught you without uh travel documentation and under normal circumstances you're you're repatriated back to your country when they cancelled the passport of Zaliko. he'll be a stateless person so that he'll be deported back.

[00:19:03]>> The the fact that his passport was cancelled uh also begs the question because to say that it is no longer valid and before this uh if he was using diplomatic passport no uh for what I know unless you're really a diplomat or you're you're a high level official of the DFA official and diplomatic passports are given every time you travel >> validate DFA no for instance like I was sent to Geneva to uh to negotiate with the World Trade Organization before and then you you the next time you travel for another official then they they place also the reason for it. No.

[00:20:04]Now if his passport was expired old renewed passport up to 203 but how would the check authorities know it was canled computer when you go through the immigration?

[00:20:26]>> Uh that's another thing bucket in a land border. I mean I've been to >> Yeah. I've been there three three four times.

[00:20:35]>> Twice by air and yeah twice by air if I'm not mistaken and twice by land. Land wala inspect I mean passport went once I went through from Vienna to Prague and then once again from Berlin to Prague.

[00:20:50]No. So two countries you borders or three countries borders check. No. So moving forward, should the president create like a special task force?

[00:21:04]>> Well, I efficient considering what's has happened in that past few weeks, >> how did it happen at all?

[00:21:13]>> How how for for that matter was it possible for >> Zaldiko who's been there since uh who's been wherever else in the world for what 15 months, 16 months So when he when they announced that he was able to evade um apprehension again and uh that he was able to apply for asylum evade arrest Jason Bour Jason talaga but uh do you think someone's helping him?

[00:21:50]>> I suppose so with all his money.

[00:21:53]>> Mhm. No, I mean not not to cast dispersions on on whoever. No, but with all his money I I think he has connections no uh both with Philippine authorities and probably has very good international lawyers in his employee international lawyers.

[00:22:13]>> Yeah, I I suppose that's one way that he's able to navigate all of these in European. Yeah, I think the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as well as the Justice Committee uh in the Senate should uh initiate an inquiry into this.

[00:22:29]>> Mhm.

[00:22:29]>> No, >> another inquiry.

[00:22:33]>> Yeah, another inquiry.

[00:22:40]But if it can answer questions that would indeed be helpful and so that the you know the government can also improve gaps because is another case of someone that we have not heard from uh the government as to status whether he's still here or outside we do not know >> so let's shift to another topic we'll wait for what happens later with the meeting of the president ambassadors of France and the Czech Republic uh but the impeachment the hearing of the house justice committee >> today is supposed to be the last among the house justice committee hearings in determining probable cause. What do you expect will happen today?

[00:23:23]>> I think they will uh vote. I mean the justice committee with its what 70 members or so will vote to uh to uh draft the articles of impeachment and submit it to the plenary uh Mayoa May 11 reopening Congress or >> first or second week of May. No. So they will uh send it to the plenary for uh to be able to get the one-third uh uh num number of votes no to uh send it to the Senate for trial.

[00:23:55]>> Yeah. And it seems that they will have enough votes. How soon do you think this will reach the Senate or do you have a different opinion? Will they have a hard time getting the sufficient number of votes for this to go to Senate? Well, if um Malakanyang um you know in the same way that uh they did under the leadership of uh Martin Raldes, then no, if Malakanyang Danielle's uh enough freebies, enough pork barrel enticements, they they should be able to get the required 106 signatures to the articles of impeachment. Do you think that when it comes to the Senate, there are sufficient votes now to impeach Vice President Sara after allegations against VP Sara, including her family, came out in last week's hearing related to bank transactions and the salins of VP Sara?

[00:24:51]>> Well, uh two things. No, one is uh as a political uh trial. No. Uh with this I mean the impeachment being both legal and political. On the political side it will be very difficult to get 16 votes to convict. No. uh on the legal side, you may get the you the Supreme Court may again step in because uh very clearly to most lawyers I have talked to there were transgressions uh on the part of the committee on justice regarding for instance the alc uh uh giving out uh the transaction documents or the transaction numbers no uh figures of uh from 2005 I think or 2006 when she was not yet an impeachable officer from 2006 to 2022.

[00:25:41]I mean, and if you look at the numbers, it those transaction figures were big or bigger during the time she was not yet an impeachable officer. No. So these are things that the Supreme Court may weigh and may also assuming the Supreme Court does not uh intervene this time. I'm sure the senators will find reason to cast aside so many of those uh documentary evidence even the testimonial evidences that were uh uh brought before the justice committee.

[00:26:17]>> Okay. Thank you so much Leto Banayo and it's going to be exciting to see if we'll finally get answers especially on Zambi. Yeah, very very exciting times for the country, but unfortunately also very difficult times for the rest of the population. No. Uh the WTI uh index for oil went up to more than $100 yesterday.

[00:26:39]Brent crude went up to $112.

[00:26:43]And the last bidding for fertilizers, the URA fertilizer, international bidding, went up to 3,000 no $1,000 per ton. $1,000 is 20 bags of fertilizers. That means if we're if the cost of and I'm talking retail, the retail price of fertilizer now is about 2,300.

[00:27:05]The wholesale price, the landed cost will be 3,000 pesos per bag. So in short, you're saying fuel we're going we're going to have uh problems with agriculture. Terrible problems with agriculture.

[00:27:21]>> Okay. And we'll talk about that some other time. Thank you so much Banana.

[00:27:25]>> Always a pleasure attorney Karen.

[00:27:28]>> The search for Zaldico has now spanned several countries from Portugal to Prague to Paris. Vix is exposes not just the complexity of international law enforcement but also the consequences of missteps, mixed messaging and missed opportunities. As questions mount, the real test for the government is no longer just about bringing one man home.

[00:27:51]It's about restoring credibility. In the end, accountability cannot be elusive and the truth, no matter how delayed, must catch up. Be informed. Be insightful of the news. I'm attorney Karen Himeo. Always stay at the forefront.