Martin Romualdez charged with plunder

FORMER SPEAKER. Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez tenders his resignation as speaker during the plenary session of the House of Representatives on September 17, 2025. Jire Carreon/Rappler The President's cousin and former House speaker is tagged as the 'central figure' in the alleged scheme involving 'diversion of public funds meant for flood control projects' The Office of the Ombudsman has filed a plunder case against former House speaker Martin Romualdez over a flood control scam, making him one of the highest officials charged in this multi-billion anomaly. Romualdez, who is related to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is accused of being the 'central figure' in diverting public funds meant for flood control projects, which allegedly involved P56 billion. In addition to the plunder case, Romualdez faces asset freezes and travel bans, with investigations revealing multimillion-peso properties linked to him, and the Ombudsman seeking testimony from former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan as a potential state witness. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – The Office the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against former House speaker Martin Romualdez over the flood control scam. The Ombudsman charged Romualdez before the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan on Monday, September 7, making the former speaker one of the highest officials to be charged over the multi-billion flood control anomaly. According to the Ombudsman, Romualdez, the cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is the “central figure” in the alleged scheme involving “diversion of public funds meant for flood control projects.” Earlier, the investigative body said the allegedly anomalous projects supposedly reached P56 billion. The Leyte lawmaker denied masterminding the alleged kickback scheme, claiming that the national budget process is done not by the House speaker alone but by the entire House, the Senate, and the executive branch. The Ombudsman filing was the latest blow against the once powerful speaker. In April, the Court of Appeals ordered the freezing of assets linked to him after finding probable cause to believe they were connected to alleged plunder, graft, and direct and indirect bribery. He has also been placed under a preliminary hold departure order that month. Romualdez asked the anti-graft court to lift his travel ban, but the Sandiganbayan denied the request. The US government has also canceled Romualdez’s diplomatic and tourist/business visas. As of April 22, Romualdez has already been barred from leaving the Philippines – the Sandiganbayan granted the Ombudsman’s precautionary hold departure order request against Marcos’ cousin. A Rappler investigation revealed there were multimillion-peso properties linked to Romualdez, including a P445-million mansion in Sotogrande, Spain. Another investigation also recently showed that the former speaker has ties to Tropics Hotel and to the Tacloban Golf and Country Club. The Ombudsman’s latest ammunition against Romualdez is former public works secretary Manuel Bonoan, whom it sought to be a state witness.It believes that Bonoan’s testimony can pin Romualdez and shed light on how lawmakers allegedly inserted allocations in the national budget through the Department of Public Works and Highways.“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,” Romualdez lawyer Ade Fajardo said. “There is also the report that the Ombudsman has 28 new witnesses. We would like to know if there is any statement from them against our client, and we would like as well to have the opportunity to respond,” he added.– Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading