MANILA — Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said the government is coordinating with authorities in the Czech Republic to repatriate former Representative Zaldy Co., who was arrested in Prague in connection with a corruption scandal. Co was detained after crossing into the Czech Republic without proper documentation.

"We are in close coordination with the Czech government to ensure that all legal processes are followed and to arrange for his return to the Philippines at the soonest possible time," Marcos said. The Philippines has no extradition treaty with the Czech Republic. Philippine officials had canceled Co's passport and sought Interpol's help to locate and arrest him.

Co resigned from the House of Representatives in September after being implicated in financial anomalies involving flood control projects. He, along with Martin Romualdez and Francis Escudero, came under investigation over accusations that they pocketed kickbacks from flood control projects. The three have denied any wrongdoing.

At least 9,855 flood control projects worth more than 545 billion pesos have come under scrutiny since Marcos took office in mid-2022. Many of the projects were found to be substandard, overpriced or not built at all.

In September, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto told a congressional hearing that up to 118.5 billion pesos intended for flood control projects may have been lost to corruption since 2023.

Several former government engineers, public works officials, wealthy construction company executives and a former senator have been detained while facing trial on corruption charges. News reports showed that some suspects owned fleets of expensive European cars and maintained lavish lifestyles.

Public anti-corruption protests were held last year in the Philippines. Millions of people in the Philippines live in poverty.