A travel ban is now in place against Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero and businessman Maynard Ngu after the Sandiganbayan’s Sixth Division issued a precautionary hold departure order on Sunday, April 27, instructing the Bureau of Immigration to add both men to its hold departure list.
Ngu, identified as a private citizen, was both a campaign donor to Escudero and a government contractor. The two face complaints filed by the Office of the Ombudsman involving plunder, graft, and indirect bribery tied to a multibillion-peso flood control scheme. The PHDO was issued following a verified ex parte application and is designed to keep respondents within Philippine jurisdiction while legal proceedings move forward.
Escudero has denied all allegations against him. His removal from the Senate presidency in September 2025 came at the height of public scrutiny over his alleged role in the controversy.
The Ombudsman has previously announced that formal plunder charges against Escudero and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez are expected to be filed next month. In December 2025, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla named both officials as bearing liability for enabling irregularities across flood control and infrastructure programs.
Testimony at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee in September 2025 placed Escudero at the center of the scheme. Former Department of Public Works and Highways Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo alleged that his close ties to Ngu led to a request that he supply a project list for the General Appropriations Act, with a 20% commission attached. Bernardo further alleged that after those projects were approved, he turned over P160 million — representing 20% of an estimated P800 million purportedly earmarked for Escudero.
Escudero is not alone in receiving the travel restriction. Romualdez was issued a similar order on April 22 over the same flood control allegations. Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan have also been barred from traveling abroad in connection with the broader scheme.
