Metro Manila, Philippines – Two agencies going after those named in the flood control scandal have recommended to the ombudsman to file plunder charges against former House speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and former AKO BICOL party-list Rep. Zaldy Co – the biggest case referral so far in the multibillion-peso scam.
On Friday, Nov. 21, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) submitted a joint referral to the ombudsman, including boxes of documents on contracts of companies tied to Co and sworn testimonies in the Senate blue ribbon committee against Romualdez and the former lawmaker.
Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon said the contracts of Co’s Sunwest, Inc. and Hi-Tone Construction and Development Corporation – both in the top 15 government contractors identified by the Palace – topped P100 billion in nine years from 2016 to 2025.
The case referral included graft and direct bribery charges against Co and Romualdez.
Dizon said the testimony of Orly Guteza – the self-confessed security aide of Co who said in a Senate hearing that he delivered suitcases filled with cash to the residences of Romualdez – were in the submitted documents.
“Ito ‘yung facts. At ang facts, simple lang. Si Speaker Martin Romualdez, siya ang naging speaker from 2022 to 2025. Si former congressman Zaldy Co ang napili na committee on appropriations chairman,” he said.
[Translation: These are the facts. And the facts are simple. Speaker Martin Romualdez was House speaker from 2022 to 2025. Former congressman Zaldy Co was chosen as the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.]
Asked about the absence of malversation charges in the recommendation – which would facilitate faster conviction – Dizon said they would leave it to the ombudsman to file appropriate cases in court.
Ahead of the filing, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. disclosed in a video message that the two agencies will refer cases to the ombudsman against his cousin and Co.
Co is facing graft and a non-bailable malversation case before the anti-graft court, over a substandard road dike in Oriental Mindoro, contracted by Sunwest Inc., of which he was tagged as beneficial owner. He has refused to return to the country and defend himself from the complaints and charges.
In the Senate inquiry, testimonies pointed to Co and Romualdez as the biggest recipients of kickbacks from infrastructure deals. Both have issued denials.
The filing was the sixth referral of the ICI since Marcos formed the commission in September.
It also came less than a week after Co tagged the president as mastermind of a supposed P100-billion insertion in the current budget.
‘My conscience remains clear’
In a statement read by his lawyer and spokesperson, Romualdez said his “conscience remains clear.”
“I willingly submitted myself to the ICI’s fact finding process, appeared voluntarily, and has remained in the country. Throughout all these proceedings, no sworn or credible evidence has ever linked me to any irregularity,” the former speaker said via his spokesperson Ade Fajardo in a press briefing.
“It’s now with the ombudsman. I trust in the ombudsman’s impartial and thorough review and evaluation. I do so with confidence that a fair and complete assessment of the record will reflect the truth,” he added.
Fajardo said his client remains in the country and will attend House sessions.
ICI Commissioner Rogelio Singson said the former speaker denied responsibility in the flood control mess during a commission hearing last month.
NewsWatch Plus has reached out to Co’s counsel.
