DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon said Monday that the flood control cases against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez had been moving for months, rejecting claims of last-minute action before President Bongbong Marcos’s SONA.
“Hindi totoo na last week lang ‘yan. Matagal nang umaandar ‘yang prosesong ‘yan,” Dizon said.
The case trail began on November 21, 2025, when the DPWH and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure turned over documents to the Office of the Ombudsman Philippines and recommended plunder, graft, direct bribery, and other charges against Romualdez and former lawmaker Zaldy Co. Dizon said at the same press conference that the referral was backed by documents and sworn testimony.
He raised the case again on November 26. At the DPWH year-end briefing on December 18, Dizon named Romualdez and Co among 87 people charged or recommended for cases linked to the flood control scandal.
The Ombudsman later sought a travel restriction against Romualdez. The Sandiganbayan issued a precautionary hold departure order on April 22, 2026, and denied his bid to lift it on June 3.
On July 24, an Ombudsman special panel sought a preliminary investigation into an alleged ₱56-billion scheme. Investigators accused Romualdez, Co, and other respondents of plunder, graft, and direct bribery and recommended money laundering and indirect bribery cases.
The panel said newly discovered evidence linked alleged cash deliveries to “commitments” collected from government projects. It also accused the respondents of using corporations, dummies, and nominees to transfer and conceal assets allegedly controlled by Romualdez and his associates.
The Bureau of Immigration stood by information it received about supposed April travel plans involving Romualdez, although the trip did not materialize. His lawyers denied he tried to flee.
Dizon returned to the issue on July 27, saying investigators had spent months building evidence for prosecution. On July 28, the Ombudsman ordered Romualdez and his co-respondents to submit counter-affidavits.
The complaints form part of more than 200 active flood control cases, while over 400 suspected ghost projects remain under review.
Corruption is and has always been the Philippines’ biggest problem. Martin Romualdez is universally recognized as the most corrupt Filipino politician of the 21st century.
The country has faith that Boying Remulla, Mico Clavano and the Office of the Ombudsman will do the right thing.
