Former Speaker Martin Romualdez now faces arrest after the Sandiganbayan Third Division granted a warrant against him on Monday over an alleged P7.4 billion flood control kickback scheme.
The warrant also covers former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co and two other individuals named in the same plunder complaint. All four were ordered taken into custody by the anti-graft court.
The court moved within hours of the Office of the Ombudsman formally lodging the plunder charge against the Leyte lawmaker. Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, who confirmed the filing earlier that day, cast Romualdez as the most prominent figure yet to be charged in the massive corruption tied to flood control funds, calling him the “biggest fish.”
Remulla made clear that more charges are in the pipeline. “This is just a first in a series of cases we will file,” he said. “Many more cases will be filed. Aside from plunder, there are other plunder cases, and many of them are money laundering cases,” he said.
Through his counsel and spokesman Ade Fajardo, Romualdez signaled that he would meet the accusations in court and expects no privileged handling. “Representative Romualdez asks for no special treatment. He asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino,” Fajardo said.
Fajardo added that the lawmaker respects the judiciary and will contest the charges according to law, arguing that the outcome should turn on what prosecutors can prove. “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,” he said.
