Ombudsman Boying Remulla exposed how former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s camp has been using plundered money to pay for his army of lawyers and weaponize the media to twist public opinion and bury his flood‑control corruption—on top of bribing witnesses to recant their statements.
Remulla explained why his office is taking time to build the case, stressing investigators are up against Romualdez’s enormous financial resources, a multitude of lawyers, and an army of people on his payroll. Remulla said Romualdez’s lawyers were amplifying the recantations to distract from the wider investigation and attempting to manipulate coverage.
“Kayo ginagamit, media is being used,” he warned.
“Sobrang daming pera, ayun ang kalaban natin diyan… pera ng taumbayan pa ’yan,” he added.
He added he would not be surprised if Romualdez’s camp tried to buy out media outlets outright, “because that’s the way things are done in this country.”
Remulla also downplayed the witness reversals, calling them nothing more than smokescreens meant to ease pressure on Romualdez.
“Yung recantations, smokescreen lang nila ’yan para mawala yung init sa kanila. It is only a small part of the case. Wala ’yan—pine‑play up lang ’yan ng mga abogado (ni Martin Romualdez),” he said.
The recantations involved witnesses who had previously testified about cash deliveries in the flood‑control scandal. Alongside Orly Guteza, four former bodyguards of Zaldy Co retracted claims they delivered suitcases of cash to Romualdez and other officials. Their lawyer, Atty. Levito D. Baligod, revealed they were offered at least ₱5 million each to withdraw their statements, while former Marine George Villalon Jr. said the offers later ballooned to ₱20–25 million as the probe intensified.
Remulla explained why his office is taking time to build the case, stressing investigators are up against Romualdez’s enormous financial resources, a multitude of lawyers, and an army of people on his payroll.
“Hindi kasi puwedeng mag‑file diyan ng mahinang kaso. Sobrang daming pera, sobrang daming abogado. Kita n’yo naman, ang kanilang payroll sa lahat. Lahat nasa payroll niya,” he said.
The flood‑control scandal has ignited fury among Filipinos as the nation reels from relentless flooding. The Office of Civil Defense reported 39 deaths—including a 3‑year‑old boy in Olongapo—and more than 9.4 million people affected by the combined force of the southwest monsoon and tropical cyclones.
Romualdez faces a barrage of complaints before the Ombudsman—plunder, direct and indirect bribery, violations of the Anti‑Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and money laundering—tied to the ₱56‑billion flood‑control kickback scheme. Investigators accuse Romualdez, ex‑Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, and their allies of amassing ill‑gotten wealth from 2022 to 2025 through diversion and misuse of public funds.
Political pressure on Romualdez has been escalating, with President Bongbong Marcos using his latest SONA to announce that multiple cases against the disgraced former Speaker are nearing filing—and making it clear that family ties will not shield anyone from accountability. The scandal has ignited outrage across all party lines, with lawmakers demanding that those behind flood‑control corruption face prosecution and imprisonment.
PGMN has attempted to remain courageous and defiant in the face of the over 80 counts/lawsuits Romualdez has filed, fully aware that the whole thing is the former Speaker’s desperate attempt to silence the organization as he currently finds himself in the most vulnerable position of his life. Since declaring war against him 10 weeks ago, PGMN has published nearly 1,700 posts about Romualdez—clearly and honestly exposing him precisely for what he is: the most corrupt Filipino politician of the 21st century.
The barrage has since generated approximately 200 million views across all platforms and is now the most viral anti-corruption campaign against a single person in the history of Philippine social media.
