"The arrests come two months after Marcos formed a commission to look into the scandal, which the Department of Finance estimates cost the country up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2bn), after thousands of people took to the streets of Manila in September to demand accountability. In a video address shared on Facebook on Monday, Marcos said two wanted suspects were ready to surrender, while seven remained at large. Marcos warned that anybody helping the fugitives to hide would also be held accountable under the law. To the rest, give up, Marcos said, mentioning Zaldy Co, a former member of the House of Representatives, by name."
"Officials have said Co's family owns Sunwest Corporation, the construction firm contracted to build a dike on Mag-asawang Tubig River in Oriental Mindoro province. The project, worth 289 million pesos ($4.9m), is the first to be scrutinised by the court since the scandal became public. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said the whereabouts of Co, who is believed to be outside the Philippines, are unknown, but three other suspects may soon surrender to the Philippine embassies in the United States, New Zealand and Jordan and be flown back home."
Seven people have been arrested in the Philippines as part of an investigation into a sprawling corruption scandal tied to flood-control projects. More than a dozen people were indicted by the Sandiganbayan, a special anticorruption court, as probes into so-called ghost infrastructure projects expand. The Department of Finance estimates the scandal cost up to 118.5 billion pesos ($2bn). President Marcos formed a commission two months earlier and urged fugitives to surrender, naming Zaldy Co. Officials said Co's family owns the contractor for a scrutinised dike project; some suspects may surrender at overseas embassies.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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