Marcos: Cousin Romualdez to face charges over flood control scandal

MANILA, Philippines – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. opened his penultimate State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 27, with a strongly worded and unprecedented rebuke of his cousin, former House speaker Martin Romualdez. “Dumating na tayo sa punto na, ayon sa Ombudsman, ay malapit na ang paghain ng patong-patong na kaso laban sa dating speaker,” Marcos said at the start of his speech. (We have reached the point where, according to the Ombudsman, the filing of multiple cases against the former speaker is imminent.) “Masakit man sa akin ito, ngunit kailangan nating gawin ang tama. Hindi ako pangulo ng aking pamilya. Hindi ako pangulo ng aking kaibigan. Ako ay Pangulo ng Pilipinas, at ang tungkulin ko ay sa inyo: ang aking mga kapwa Pilipino,” he added. (Painful as this is for me, we have to do what is right. I am not the president of my family. I am not the president of my friends. I am the President of the Philippines, and my duty is to you, my fellow Filipinos,” he added. In a statement, Romualdez reiterated that he is ready to prove his innocence. “Masakit man ito sa aming pamilya, iginagalang ko ang naging pahayag ng Pangulo. Hindi ako kailanman humingi ng pabor o espesyal na pagtrato,” he said. “Sang-ayon ako na gawin natin ang tama. Ang tama ay ang sumunod sa proseso at hayaan ang ebidensya ang magsalita. Naninindigan akong wala akong ginawang anumang labag sa batas. At handa akong patunayan ito,” Romualdez added. (Though this hurts our family, I respect the pronouncement of the President. I never asked for any favors or special treatment. I agree that we should do the right thing, which is to follow the process and let the evidence speak for itself. I stand firm that I didn’t do anything against the law. And I am ready to prove this.) The Office of the Ombudsman previously named the Leyte congressman as the “central figure” in the multibillion flood control corruption scandal. “Our investigation identifies former speaker Romualdez as the central figure in a scheme built on the diversion of public funds meant for flood control projects — funds that were supposed to shield Filipino communities from the very floods that, year after year, take their homes, their livelihoods, and too often, their lives,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano had said on July 20. The agency has been pursuing money laundering and plunder cases against him and said it is “very close” to filing the charges against him. Romualdez had been among the closest allies of President Marcos, often joining the chief executive in his foreign trips. He resigned from the speakership in September 2025 after being implicated in the budget mess. Romualdez and his close ally, former appropriations chairperson Zaldy Co, have been the subject of criticisms over their alleged involvement in the highly criticized 2025 General Appropriations Act, which opponents and budget advocates said was mangled and among the most corrupt spending bills ever passed. Co, who is in hiding abroad, accused Romualdez and even President Marcos himself of masterminding the insertion of flood control kickbacks in the national budget. Marcos and Romualdez have denied the allegations. – Rappler.com