Four names appear on the plunder Information that the Office of the Ombudsman submitted to the Sandiganbayan on September 7, chief among them former House speaker Martin Romualdez, whose alleged role in the diversion of flood-control money has drawn a formal case before the anti-graft court.
Listed alongside the Leyte lawmaker are former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who remains a fugitive; private individual Joselyn Traguia Serenio; and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corp. president Felicito Cristobal Guevarra. Investigators allege that Romualdez and Co worked in concert to accumulate ill-gotten wealth between 2022 and 2025, with figures cited in the broader probe reaching P56 billion, according to Rappler. The charge was lodged under Republic Act 7080, the country’s plunder law, which sets a P50-million threshold for the offense.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano personally delivered the pleading, reaching the court shortly before midday. His appearance capped an investigation that, in July, publicly cast Romualdez as the “central figure” behind the alleged scheme to reroute funds earmarked for projects meant to guard communities against flooding.
Romualdez, a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., has rejected the accusations. He has argued that crafting the national budget is not the sole prerogative of the speaker but a process shared among the House, the Senate, and the executive branch, Rappler reported.
The timing of the filing followed closely on the heels of a related development involving former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan. Freed from the PNP General Hospital on September 4, Bonoan had been dropped by the Sandiganbayan’s Fifth Division from separate plunder and graft cases tied to some P573 million in alleged flood-control kickbacks, after he agreed to turn state witness. Prosecutors had signaled interest in his cooperation for other cases, Romualdez’s included, according to Philstar.com. He continues to face a bailable graft case before a different division of the court.
Whether Bonoan’s account figured into the plunder charge filed Monday was not established at the time of filing. Even so, Romualdez’s defense had flagged the matter in advance. His counsel and spokesperson, Ade Fajardo, said Sunday that the camp wanted disclosure of any claims Bonoan might have made against the former speaker, along with room to respond.
“We are requesting the Ombudsman to inform us if there is any allegation from Secretary Bonoan against former Speaker Romualdez and to give us ample time to comment on it,” Fajardo said, adding that Romualdez should be allowed to address any fresh allegations while the case is still at the preliminary investigation stage.
