Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco has voiced explosive suspicions of a possible behind-the-scenes arrangement involving Malacañang, suggesting that the sudden speed-up of Vice President Sara Duterte’s impeachment trial may be linked to a deal to free disgraced former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In an Oct. 16 interview on Usapang Real with Luchi Cruz Valdes, Tiangco, whose wife is cousins with Romualdez, said persistent insider talk suggests the former House Speaker is becoming increasingly restless in detention and expects to be granted temporary liberty.
“At ang usapan is that kailangan munang matanggal si Sara bago siya makakuha ng bail,” Tiangco said.
Tiangco warned that granting Romualdez bail while Duterte remains unconvicted would inflict catastrophic damage on the administration’s public image. He argued that such a release would raise questions about whether the government’s anti-corruption campaign was being applied selectively to political opponents while protecting powerful allies.
The lawmaker pointed to the timeline of the legislative proceedings, questioning why the impeachment process appeared to accelerate shortly after Romualdez was detained.
“If you would backtrack, tingnan mo, right after Martin went to jail, biglang bumilis yung usad ng impeachment,” Tiangco pointed out.
The allegations come three days after the House prosecution panel dropped three of four impeachment articles against the Vice President on Oct. 13. Prosecutors abandoned charges involving confidential funds, bribery and grave threats, narrowing the case to an allegation of unexplained wealth. Lead prosecutor Rep. Gerville Luistro maintained that the remaining evidence was sufficient to pursue Duterte’s removal.
Tiangco suggested that the sudden legislative rush could be connected to Romualdez’s earlier warning that he would not go down alone.
“Remember, he said he will not go down alone. Why is he suddenly so quiet now? May inaasahan yun,” Tiangco remarked.
When host Luchi Cruz-Valdes asked whether Romualdez’s warning suggested he possessed compromising information involving President Bongbong Marcos, Tiangco declined to speculate, simply stating, “I don’t know.”
Romualdez remains detained over a ₱7.44-billion plunder case filed by the Office of Ombudsman Boying Remulla. Prosecutors accuse him of participating in an alleged congressional kickback scheme involving flood control and infrastructure projects financed under national budgets from 2022 to 2025.
Tiangco has also emerged as a persistent voice challenging the budget-making practices under Romualdez’s House leadership. Since 2025, he has publicly questioned congressional insertions, demanded disclosure of amendments made by the House’s small committee and challenged the lack of transparency in budget deliberations. His objections continued into the 2027 budget hearings, where he demanded that Congress subject its own spending to the same scrutiny imposed on other government agencies.
His earlier warnings have gained renewed significance following the Supreme Court’s Oct. 20 announcement declaring the 2024 and 2025 national budgets unconstitutional over congressional increases, including ₱449.5 billion in additional unprogrammed appropriations. The decision reinforces constitutional concerns surrounding the budget process under Romualdez and gives greater weight to demands for accountability relevant to Remulla’s plunder prosecution.
Tiangco also questioned what he described as preferential treatment for Romualdez in detention, particularly his participation in court proceedings through videoconferencing rather than physical appearances before the Sandiganbayan.
He contrasted those arrangements with the treatment of other high-profile detainees and questioned the absence of widely circulated photographs showing the former Speaker in handcuffs. For Tiangco, Romualdez’s apparent shift from defiance to cooperation raises further questions about whether political negotiations are taking place behind closed doors.
