Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla signaled a deeper crackdown on alleged large-scale corruption in flood control and other government projects, naming more high-ranking politicians now under investigation.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Remulla confirmed ongoing probes involving Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, and former Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero. He said these figures may face liability either for direct involvement or for allowing questionable projects to proceed.
Remulla said key political decisions tied to budget allocations are central to the case, pointing out Romualdez’s role in Co’s rise to the powerful House appropriations chairmanship during the 19th Congress. “Although Zaldy Co was elected on the floor, everybody knows that he was the [former] Speaker’s choice,” he said. “That’s why we have to hold him (Romualdez) accountable for that.”
He suggested Romualdez could face a negligence complaint anchored on the “leadership principle.” “The buck stops with you,” Remulla said, adding that testimonies gathered from Senate inquiries would support the theory of “gross inexcusable negligence.”
Remulla also disclosed a new special team will scrutinize alleged conflicts of interest linked to the Villar family’s involvement in flood control initiatives in Las Piñas and Bacoor. He questioned whether public funds were used for projects that may have improved land owned by the family. “If you pass along that area… you’d ask who shouldered the expenses? Was it the government or was it them?” he said.
Former Public Works Secretary Rogelio Singson, part of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI), told reporters that investigators detected “connivance” behind what critics have called the country’s biggest corruption scandal. “It started in tiny bits in 2018… when they perfected the system, it started in tremendous leaps and bounds,” Singson said. “The fact is that congressmen and senators are told by the DPWH on which district they can lay down their SOPs… It’s as clear as day.”
The probe into Escudero is also advancing, Remulla said, citing a “money trail” connected to flood control projects. “We have statements of a money trail leading to him, narrations of fact that are there already,” he noted, while emphasizing that more evidence is being gathered.
The ICI recently submitted new findings to the Ombudsman accusing former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan of failing to stop alleged irregularities during his tenure.
Romualdez has earlier denied receiving kickbacks, a position confirmed by ICI executive director Brian Keith Hosaka, who said the former House leader clarified budget processes in an October hearing. Co, who was absent from Congress before stepping down in September, was reportedly traveling in Spain and Portugal during the period.
Sen. Mark Villar, who led the DPWH from 2016 to 2021 and whose family is part of the inquiry, has previously said he supports any probe, asserting he had “nothing to hide” and that neither he nor relatives held contracts during his time in office.
