Romualdez Arrest Ordered Over P7.4B Kickback Scheme

THE SANDIGANBAYAN on Monday ordered the arrest of former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez hours after he was charged with plunder over a P7.4-billion kickback scheme involving flood control projects. The anti-graft court’s Third Division also issued a hold-departure order against Mr. Romualdez, former Party-list Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” S. Co and two private individuals. The Office of the Ombudsman earlier in the day filed a plunder case, a nonbailable offense, against Mr. Romualdez and his co-accused over the flood control projects. “Today at noon… our personnel went to the Sandiganbayan to file a plunder complaint against former Speaker Martin Romualdez,” Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” C. Remulla told a news briefing in Filipino. He said state prosecutors found “prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction” against Mr. Romualdez after several months of investigation. The Ombudsman said the P7.4 billion was amassed through commissions, commitments, quotas, bribes and other payments from people promised government projects from 2022 to 2025. The Ombudsman also charged Mr. Co, former chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, and private individuals Jocelyn Sereño and Felecito Guevarra, it said. The agency alleged that Mr. Romualdez exercised “institutional influence” as Speaker, including through his committee roles, his role in Mr. Co’s selection as Appropriations chairman and his influence over the legislative and budget process. The Ombudsman said Mr. Romualdez had “uninterrupted control and meaningful participation over the national budget” because of his position and relationship with Mr. Co, whom it accused of influencing the inclusion, funding and prioritization of projects in the budget. Mr. Romualdez allegedly received cash deliveries at least 15 times from Mr. Co’s associates between September 2022 and 2025. The Ombudsman said the payments formed part of a P2-billion monthly quota allegedly imposed by Mr. Romualdez on Mr. Co, with Ms. Sereño receiving cash at various houses and properties linked to the former Speaker. Nearly P5 billion of the money was allegedly used to establish shell or dummy companies, including Golden Pheasant Holdings Corp., Braavos Holdings OPC and Valiant Consolidated Resources, Inc., which the Ombudsman said were used to move money and acquire properties, companies and other assets. The agency cited a P1.5-billion property on Tamarind Road in Forbes Park, Makati City, and a house on Narra Street in Forbes Park bought by Trans Middle East, a corporation of the Romualdez family, among the assets allegedly acquired. The case was based on testimony from several witnesses, including former Public Works Undersecretary Roberto R. Bernardo and former Department of Public Works and Highways Bulacan District Engineer Henry C. Alcantara, as well as documents, property titles, bank deposits and corporate records, the Ombudsman said. The agency said the allegations meet the elements of plunder because Mr. Romualdez is a public official who amassed more than P50 million in ill-gotten wealth through a series or combination of criminal acts. The case has been raffled to the Sandiganbayan Third Division. Mr. Romualdez’s legal counsel and spokesman, Abdiel Dan Elijah “Ade” S. Fajardo, said the lawmaker would face the allegations in accordance with the law. “We respect the courts and the legal process,” he said in a statement on Monday. “Representative Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez will face the allegations against him in accordance with law. [He] asks for no special treatment. He asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino.” The Ombudsman filed a 104-page supplemental complaint in July against Mr. Romualdez, Mr. Co and several others, recommending charges under the Plunder law, anti-graft and bribery laws and the Anti-Money Laundering Act. The special ombudsman panel alleged that the respondents diverted and misused public funds and received undue benefits tied to government transactions, resulting in the unlawful accumulation of about P56 billion in ill-gotten wealth from 2022 to 2025. The Ombudsman earlier described Mr. Romualdez as the “central figure” in the scheme, citing sworn statements from former security personnel, Anti-Money Laundering Council records, money service business transactions and corporate documents. President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said in his fifth State of the Nation Address that investigations into flood control anomalies should continue regardless of who is implicated, including Mr. Romualdez, his first cousin. “I am not the President of my family. I am not the President of my friends. I am the President of the Philippines,” Mr. Marcos said in Filipino, adding that authorities should follow the evidence wherever it leads. — M.J.M. Sanchez