The staggering volume of cash that flowed to former Speaker Martin Romualdez between 2022 and 2025 became so unwieldy that he began turning it into real estate and corporate stakes, none of which surfaced in his sworn wealth declaration, the Office of the Ombudsman claimed Tuesday, according to ABS-CBN News.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano placed the total that reached the ex-Speaker across those three years at roughly P56 billion to P57 billion, moved through a string of transactions. The scale, he said, forced Romualdez to move fast. “Dahil sa sobrang dami ng pera na hindi na kayang itago, kailangan din niyang i-convert. Sobrang daming mansion, sobrang daming shareholdings ang nabili niya para lang hindi niya itago ang pera. Kailangan niya agad na i-convert ang pera niya into actual asset na hindi naman namin nakita sa SALN niya,” Clavano said in a DZMM interview.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla pegged the plunder complaint at P7.4 billion, a figure covering alleged bribes, questionable budget insertions, and project allocations. The charge carries no bail and, as large-scale corruption, can bring life imprisonment on conviction.
Investigators traced the flow of money to at least 15 drop-offs made by aides of former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co to Romualdez’s staff at various residences, spanning September 2022 through 2025. Romualdez chaired the House as Speaker during that window, while Co led the chamber’s appropriations committee. The monthly haul from Co hit P2 billion, the anti-graft office said. Nearly P5 billion of that, it added, seeded dummy firms that then funneled cash into property and other holdings, with some of the money run through a foreign exchange firm and swapped into another currency.
The Ombudsman has lined up 42 witnesses in the case, among them 28 new ones and 14 of Co’s former bodyguards. Former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan has also been floated as a potential witness in what the office describes as a master case to defraud the national treasury. Clavano said Bonoan could shed light on how a handful of legislators bent the congressional budget process. “Parang iilang tao na lang ang nakapag-decide kung ano talaga ang nilalaman ng [General Appropriations Act] ng 2025,” he said.
The prosecution will also fight any bid to keep Romualdez in a hospital rather than a detention facility, Clavano signaled. The former Speaker has been at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City since Monday, with his camp citing Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, primary hypothyroidism, and other conditions. Placement ultimately rests with the Sandiganbayan, Clavano acknowledged, but the office intends to verify his actual medical state and block any preferential handling. “Ang responsibilidad namin ay mag-file ng mga pleadings or opposition doon sa mga ipa-file niya na motion for hospital arrest. We will insist na makita natin yung totoong kalagayan ni former Speaker para makita namin ‘yung sakit na supposed to be kailangan (gamutin),” he said, adding, “We will treat this with a lot of care and suspicion dahil ang gusto talaga namin ay i-prosecute itong kaso sa lalong madaling panahon.”
Through his lawyer Ade Fajardo, Romualdez has continued to reject any wrongdoing and said he would answer the accusations within the bounds of the law. “We recognize the public interest surrounding this case. But ultimately, criminal liability must be determined by the evidence presented in court, under the rules and safeguards of our justice system,” Fajardo said in a statement, adding: “Representative Romualdez asks for no special treatment. He asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino. Katotohanan, ebidensya, at patas na proseso ang dapat manaig.”
Whether the ex-Speaker can secure bail remains open, according to UP College of Law assistant professor Atty. Michael Tiu Jr., who said the option survives if the evidence of guilt proves weak. He characterized the burden as now sitting with the prosecution to show, at a hearing, that its proof is strong, with the Sandiganbayan’s Third Division left to weigh it. “Nasa burden na ngayon ng prosecution kapag dinidinig na ang mosyon na iyan na ipakita na malakas nga ang ebidensya sa crime na iyan. Nasa diskresyon ng mahistrado ng Third Division to evaluate. Wala tayong klarong baseline rule kasi nga depende sa kung anong ipipresentang ebidensya ng prosekusyon dito sa petisyong ito,” he said.
