Vice President Sara Duterte accused former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday of running a long-standing “suitcase cash modus” tied to multi-billion flood control kickbacks and illegal gambling payoffs. She made the statement during a presscon after defending her office’s budget at the Senate.
The Vice President said rumors of cash-stuffed luggage deliveries to Romualdez have circulated since 2022, but this time the allegations come with sworn witness accounts.
“Hindi na ako nagulat, kasi matagal na naming alam ’yan dahil matagal na rin pinag-uusapan. Simula pa lang noong pagpasok namin bilang presidente at bise presidente, naririnig na namin ’yung mga delivery ng pera na nakalagay sa mga suitcases. Pero ngayon lang lumabas sa publiko dahil may witness na nagsabi na siya mismo ang nagdadala ng mga suitcases na ’yon,” Duterte said.
She added that Romualdez’s alleged dealings went far beyond infrastructure anomalies:
“Matagal na ito, hindi lang sa flood control, kundi pati sa illegal gambling. Tumatanggap sila. Kaya si Martin Romualdez, hindi lang sa flood control nasasangkot.”
Asked by reporters about the source of her information, Duterte said someone from Romualdez’s own office told her about the cash deliveries, but she refused to give further details.
Her remarks came days after the Senate heard testimony from Orly Guteza, a former aide of Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co, who said he personally delivered suitcases of cash to Romualdez multiple times a week. Guteza described the practice as routine and also said Romualdez’s name repeatedly came up alongside Co in questionable transactions, recounting that Rep. Eric Yap once delivered “46 suitcases” of cash to Co’s residence.
Duterte also pointed abroad for evidence, citing court filings in Delaware involving the stalled merger between Okada Manila’s parent company Universal Entertainment and U.S.-based 26 Capital Acquisition Corp.
In its pre-trial brief, 26 Capital alleged that “Parent’s Sato Nobuki traveled to the Philippines ‘with heavy luggage’ to deliver an ‘item’ directly to ‘Martin.’” The filing continued that “within three days of that delivery, Universal’s Tokuda met directly with Speaker Romualdez, who then and there called judges of the Philippine Supreme Court.” Tokuda was described in the filings as a Universal executive, identified only by surname, without further personal details. The same case records noted that Universal executives believed there were justices “on our side” and that “the pressure by No. 2 must be working.” Another document, an internal email from Universal director Michelle Lazaro, stated that she and another executive had a “common friend” in the Philippines—identified in the filings as Martin Romualdez—who had helped Universal before and was described as “the best option to lead UEC out of this current disturbing situation.”
Although the Delaware court ultimately refused to compel the merger and did not issue a ruling on the bribery allegations, the official record placed Romualdez’s name directly into a high-stakes international legal dispute, giving Duterte’s claims an added layer of credibility.
Romualdez, however, firmly denied the accusations.
“Nakakalungkot na ang mismong Bise Presidente, na inakusahan at na-impeach ng House dahil sa maling paggamit ng pondo, ay siya pang nagkakalat ng ganitong kasinungalingan,” he said, calling the testimonies and foreign court records “false, malicious, and purely political.”
