ICI, BOC refute claim of forcibly seizing 34 cars tied to Zaldy Co

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January 14, 2026 | 8:13am

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Customs (BOC) and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) said the seizure of luxury cars linked to former Rep. Elizaldy Co was conducted according to lawful and appropriate procedures. 

ICI special adviser Rodolfo Azurin said neither Customs officials nor the ICI took the keys to the alleged 34 luxury vehicles, contrary to claims made by Co’s lawyer, Ruy Rondain.

"Unang una, 'pag titignan mo, hindi kami ang kumuha ng susi," he said at a press conference on Tuesday, January 13. (First of all, if you look at it, we were not the ones who took the keys.)

Azurin also pointed out that it doesn't make sense for one person to hold 34 keys in their hands. But since Rondain raised this concern and vowed to file legal cases against law enforcement, the ICI official said the independent body would look into the additional 34 cars not covered by their search warrants. 

Scope of seizures questioned. The BOC seized eight of the nine luxury vehicles registered under Co, his wife and Sunwest Inc. at a condominium in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City on January 8 for alleged import violations and unpaid duties and taxes.

Azurin said the ICI had information pointing to a total of 15 vehicles, raising questions about the remaining units cited by Co’s counsel.

"So ibig sabihin, kulang pa pala 'yung inapplyan namin search warrant, may additional pa pala na magtototal ng 34 na hahanapin pa pala namin," Azurin said. 

"Syempre binigyan kami ng magandang impormasyon ni attorney, edi titignan namin paano hahagipin 'yun," he added. 

(So it turns out that the search warrant we applied for was still incomplete, there are additional cars, bringing the total to 34 that we still need to look for. Of course, the lawyer provided us with good information, so we will look into how we can include those.)

'Above board.' BOC Deputy Chief of Staff Chris Noel Bendijo, meanwhile, said the whole operation was recorded by the body cameras of the agency's personnel. If there were any keys confiscated, they could be spotted immediately. 

He added that copies of the search warrant were provided to the car owners' lawyers, all of whom signed. "So clearly, our implementation of the search warrant was above board," Bendijo said. 

Rondain said authorities who allegedly confiscated the 34 keys told him they were only following orders, and the reason for confiscating them was based on a Land Transportation Office's notice of an "alarm" tied to the vehicles.

Co is one of the central figures in the anomalous flood control investigations, having been charged with graft by the Sandiganbayan in December 2025. He was the appropriations chair in the 19th Congress, who prepared the national budget during President Bongbong Marcos' first three years.