Ombudsman Boying Remulla on Friday said he believes it was the camp of ex‑House Speaker Martin Romualdez that pulled the strings behind the sudden recantation of four ex‑Marines in the flood‑control probe.
At a press conference, Remulla declared Romualdez’s camp was reeking of desperation, stressing that it was the ex‑Speaker — whom his office has branded the “master plunderer” — who orchestrated the move.
“Makikita mo talaga how desperate that camp is to take away the witnesses against them because we have built a solid case already,” Remulla said.
“The camp of former Speaker Romualdez: his lawyers, his strategists, his advisers, yung mga tumutulong sa kanya, kasama na ‘yan. They’re desperate.”
Asked if Romualdez’s camp was behind the recanting, Remulla shot back: “Siyempre! Siyempre! Sino pa? Sino pa? Sino pa ibang makikinabang dyan sa pag‑recant na yan?”
Remulla also denied the four ex‑Marines’ claim that they were “pressured” by Ombudsman investigators to testify against Romualdez, saying: “May recording kami ng lahat. Kami, kaya naming takutin ang Marines? Paano namin sila tatakutin? We were even offering them security.”
The recantation came just as the Ombudsman probe intensified — reinforced by President Bongbong Marcos‘ State of the Nation Address announcing the Ombudsman was close to filing cases against Romualdez — and it appears the ex‑Speaker’s camp has escalated its offers even further.
The pattern echoes what ex‑congressman Mike Defensor — an ally of all 18 Marines — told PGMN before his jailing: Romualdez’s camp had already dangled ₱5 million per Marine to withdraw their statements. Now, George Villalon Jr., one of the eight former Marines whose testimony was used by the Ombudsman in its flood‑control corruption probe, revealed on Friday that his fellow Marines are being offered ₱20 million to ₱25 million each to switch sides — a staggering jump from the earlier offers.
One of the four ex‑Marines who recanted admitted to Baligod that he was “tempted” by offers to withdraw his testimony—and apologized to Baligod before ultimately giving in.
Corruption has always been the Philippines’ greatest plague — and Romualdez is universally recognized as the most corrupt Filipino politician of the 21st century.
