President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. revealed on Wednesday that former ex-Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co tried to blackmail the government into not canceling his passport, an offer which the President immediately rejected.

“I do not negotiate with criminals,” Marcos said in his latest video message reporting the status of the criminal cases filed against individuals, including Co, who were implicated in the multibillion-peso flood control corruption. .

Marcos said Co’s lawyer reached out to authorities and requested the non-cancellation of the resigned lawmaker’s passport in exchange for stopping from making further claims through videos on social media.

“Nilapitan po kami ng abogado ni Zaldy Co at nagtatangkang mag-blackmail na kung hindi po namin kakanselahin daw ang passport niya, hindi na raw siya maglalabas ng video,” Marcos said.

“Kahit maglabas ka na ng video ng lahat ng kasinungalingan mo na pag-destabilize sa gobyerno. Gusto kong malaman mo Zaldy makakansela pa rin ang passport mo. Hindi ka na makakatakas sa hustisya.”

Ruy Rondain, the lawyer of Co, denied allegations that the former congressman is blackmailing the Marcos administrarion.

Rondain said he has ''not spoken with anyone from the government to negotiate the stoppage of the videos for the passport. '' ''As I have always maintained, I have no control over the release of the videoes,'' he said, according to news reports.

Co is facing a warrant of arrest issued by Sandiganbayan along with 15 officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and Sunwest Corp. who were indicted by the Ombudsman with graft and malversation of public funds over an anomalous P289.5 million flood control project in Oriental Mindoro.

In the same video message, Marcos also announced that eight congressmen were recommended to be charged before the Ombudsman with plunder, graft, bribery and conflict of interest for owning construction companies involved in anomalous DPWH projects.

The recommended charges against the eight lawmakers were based on the evidence gathered by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the DPWH.

Marcos reiterated the government is pursuing the recovery of taxpayers’ money as the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) issued two more freeze orders against those implicated in the flood control scandal.

The President said this brings the total amount of assets frozen to about P12 billion, which includes Co’s air assets valued at around P4 billion, as well as 3,566 bank accounts, 198 insurance policies, 247 motor vehicles, 178 real properties, and 16 e-wallet accounts.

“Umpisa lang po ito. Mas marami pong asset ay mafo-frozen para maibalik ang pera ng tao sa kanila. Ito po ay ang aming pangako that the money of the people will be given back to the people,” Marcos emphasized.

Marcos started the investigation into widespread corruption in the DPWH when the President denounced irregularities in flood control projects during his July 28 Fourth State of the Nation Address. Presidential News Desk-DMS