Former Executive Secretary Atty. Vic Rodriguez revealed that Martin Romualdez pushed Amenah F. Pangandaman for the Department of Budget and Management Philippines and Management post, even escorting her to Bongbong Marcos’ Forbes Park residence as Marcos assembled his first Cabinet in 2022.
Rodriguez—Marcos’ longtime chief of staff and spokesperson—was nominated Executive Secretary on May 22, 2022. Pangandaman was named Budget Secretary days later after serving as DBM undersecretary and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas assistant governor.
“Si Martin Romualdez,” Rodriguez answered in November 2025 when asked who pushed Pangandaman for DBM. He added, “Malinaw sa akin na ang nagdala diyan sa bahay ni BBM doon sa Forbes ay si Martin Romualdez.”
Her tenure later became tied to the 2025 budget and flood‑control controversy. Former House appropriations chair Zaldy Co alleged in November 2025 that Pangandaman relayed a supposed instruction involving ₱100 billion in project insertions during bicameral budget deliberations. Pangandaman denied the allegation, while Malacañang disputed Co’s claims.
Three days after Co implicated her, Pangandaman resigned. Malacañang said she and then Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin stepped down “out of delicadeza” after their agencies were mentioned in flood‑control allegations.
Romualdez was arrested on Sept. 7 after the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant in a ₱7.4‑billion plunder case over alleged kickbacks tied to flood‑control, infrastructure, and other government projects. Police served the warrant while he was confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center.
A court‑ordered PGH examination later found him clinically stable and needing no special medical monitoring, leading to his transfer to Quezon City Jail on September 14. He pleaded not guilty two days later.
The Office of the Ombudsman is now pursuing other “big fish” beyond Romualdez. It is working to bring Co back from France while preparing more plunder, malversation, graft, and bribery cases against Romualdez in the wider flood‑control scandal—including his role in the 2025 budget, branded the most corrupt of all time under Pangandaman’s DBM leadership.
