The Bureau of Immigration, confirmed Thursday that Joselyn Tragua Serenio, the mayordoma or head maid at Martin Romualdez’s Forbes Park residence, had already left the country before an arrest warrant and hold-departure order were issued against her over her role in the delivery of suitcases containing cash to the former House Speaker’s residence.
According to the Bureau of Immigration, its records showed that Serenio departed before the Sandiganbayan issued a hold-departure order against her on Sept. 7. The bureau did not immediately disclose when she left or where she traveled.
PGMN sources said earlier this month that Serenio and other members of Romualdez’s household received cash deliveries linked to DPWH kickbacks at 42 McKinley Street, 14 Nara House, 30 Tamarind Road, Aguado Property and Manila Polo Club townhouses.
Serenio is among four accused in the ₱7.44-billion plunder case involving Romualdez, former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co and businessman Felicito Guevarra. The Sandiganbayan Third Division issued arrest warrants and hold-departure orders against them on Sept. 7.
Co had left the Philippines much earlier, departing in July 2025 as the flood-control controversy intensified and authorities began pursuing criminal cases against him.
Co was later detained in Prague, Czech Republic, in April 2026 over immigration issues. He was released from Czech custody and traveled to France, where Malacañang later confirmed that he was seeking political asylum based on his claim of political persecution.
Serenio held a key position within the former speaker’s household. The Office of the Ombudsman identified her as Romualdez’s close personal aide and mayordoma at his Forbes Park estate on 42 McKinley Road in Makati City.
Investigators said vehicles carrying suitcases filled with cash were allowed onto the property and that Serenio received the bags upon arrival. The deliveries formed part of kickbacks collected from contractors and entities with interests in flood-control, infrastructure and other government-funded projects.
Prosecutors placed Serenio directly along the route through which the money reached the Romualdez household.
Romualdez was taken into custody at Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Sept. 7 and later transferred to the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas after PGH doctors told the court he was clinically stable and no longer required acute-care hospital confinement. He pleaded not guilty to the plunder charge via videoconference on Sept. 16.
