Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro on Thursday night, April 30, said she does not know who informed President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of Zaldy Co’s detention in Prague, Czech Republic — the information that led Marcos to announce on Facebook that the fugitive former lawmaker had been captured.
The announcement, in which Marcos declared Co had been captured or “nahuli,” led the public to expect his imminent return, but the Department of Justice (DOJ) later clarified that Co was “not technically arrested” — he was merely held at a border checkpoint after attempting to cross without valid travel documents.
When pressed by reporters on who gave the President that information, Lazaro said: “That I have no information on.”
She also pushed back on suggestions that the announcement was premature or overblown, saying she does not “think there’s any drama in the statements made by the President.”
Presidential Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro earlier said Marcos was disappointed that Co was not brought home, but was not blaming any Cabinet official over the failed attempt.
Castro also said the President has nothing to apologize for, adding that “everything that needed to be done was done by the President and the administration.”
Co has since filed a petition for political asylum in France, where he is reportedly located as of writing.
But Lazaro said the Philippine government has yet to confirm a physical sighting of the former lawmaker in France.
