Romualdez arrested, in hospital ‘detention’

P7.4 billion  plunder case filed vs former speaker, Zaldy Co, others

MANILA, Philippines —  Former House speaker Martin Romualdez was placed under arrest last night on orders of the Sandiganbayan, where he was indicted for P7.4-billion plunder together with fugitive ex-congressman Zaldy Co and two others.

Romualdez was served the arrest warrant at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, who was at the hospital, confirmed.

The former speaker, first cousin of President Marcos, was reportedly suffering from an “anxiety attack” and a “cardiovascular event,” prompting his lawyers to ask the Sandiganbayan to grant him “continued hospital confinement.”

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, whose office filed the plunder case, said it was just the first of a slew of charges to be filed in court against Romualdez involving plunder, malversation and graft related to kickbacks and the flood control mess.

A medical certificate submitted by Romualdez’s camp to the anti-graft court said he was diagnosed with “hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery disease, S/P PCI (post percutaneous coronary intervention), cerebrovascular ischemic disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and primary hyperthyroidism.”

The Sandiganbayan said it would make its own assessment of Romualdez’s fitness for detention in a regular jail.

“The issuance of a warrant of arrest signifies only that, after personally evaluating the records, the Court found probable cause to believe that the accused committed the offense charged,” a statement from the anti-graft court read.

After at least seven months of case buildup, the ombudsman, led by Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano, yesterday led the filing of plunder charges against Romualdez, Co, Romualdez’s household staff Joselyn Serenio and money changer owner Felicito Guevarra before the Sandiganbayan.

In a statement, the ombudsman emphasized the four accused should be held liable for receiving P7.4 billion “from commissions, commitments, quota, bribes and others from those whom they promised government projects from 2022 to 2025.”

Under police custody

Romualdez was placed under police custody at Cardinal Santos last night and is now considered a person deprived of liberty after police read him his rights, the interior secretary said.

“He is suffering from a cardiovascular event, his blood pressure is unstable and he is having an anxiety attack,” Remulla told reporters outside the hospital.

Romualdez was brought to the hospital at about 4 p.m. yesterday, shortly after the issuance of the arrest warrant against him.

Remulla said police would follow the precedent set in the case of former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) secretary Manuel Bonoan, who was allowed to remain in a hospital for several days while under police custody before being brought to court.

“We will check every day until he is well enough to be presented to court,” he said.

While Romualdez remains hospitalized, armed police officers have been deployed outside his room and in the hospital lobby, Remulla noted, adding that a Philippine National Police (PNP) doctor would coordinate with Romualdez’s attending physicians to determine when he can be transferred.

“We assure you that he cannot hide behind his wealth. No matter how wealthy he is, he cannot pay the law to allow him to sleep in a nice place,” Remulla said.

“We will bring him to Payatas at the proper time if the doctor says he is fit. This is not a permanent situation. His room in Payatas is waiting for him,” he added.

Remulla said the government would ensure that Romualdez receives the same treatment as other people facing arrest warrants.

Also present at the hospital were PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr., Eastern Police District director Brig. Gen. Roman Arugay and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Brig. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II.

In a statement, the Sandiganbayan Third Division said the arrest warrant and hold departure order against the former speaker “remain in force and must be implemented” despite his apparent hospitalization.

“If there are concerns regarding the accused’s medical condition, it is only the Court that can determine whether such condition affects the implementation of the warrant,” it noted.

Shell companies

The ombudsman accused Romualdez of receiving cash deliveries worth P2 billion each from Co’s staff 15 times from September 2022 to 2025, which Serenio accepted in the ex-speaker’s “various houses and properties.”
From the P7.4 billion worth of collections, Romualdez used P5 billion to create “shell or dummy companies, namely Golden Pheasant Holdings Corp., Braavos (sic) Holding OPC and Valiant Consolidated Resources Inc.”
The amassed amount also appeared to have been exchanged into foreign currencies with the help of Guevarra’s money changer business.

The “shell companies” then became instruments that enabled Romualdez to transfer and eventually procure other properties, companies and assets such as the property along Tamarind Road in Forbes Park – where Romualdez is reportedly a resident – worth P1.5 billion, and a house along Narra Street in Forbes Park bought by his family-owned business Trans Middle East.

Romualdez, currently Leyte 1st district representative, has “uninterrupted control and meaningful participation over the national budget” brought about by his position as former House speaker and his alleged friendship with Co, the ombudsman said.

Co, on the other hand, has the “influence and power to include, allot funds and prioritize projects in the proposed budget.”

The ombudsman noted the plunder charges against Romualdez, Co and two others stemmed from testimonies from “several witnesses” that included former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara and Co’s security aides.

Both Bernardo and Alcantara became state witnesses in cases linked to the flood control scandal before the Sandiganbayan.

It also attributed the cases to documents, titles, bank deposits and shares of stocks in various corporations currently in its possession.

Meanwhile, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said he was “not afraid of recantations,” when asked about the withdrawn testimony of former Co bodyguard Orly Guteza.

“The case is not weakened because there is so much money stolen that there isn’t a place to store them; it was used to purchase houses, which were not needed,” he stressed.

Remulla said some of the amassed funds were even donated to an educational institution overseas.

While Remulla noted that Bonoan was not part of the case buildup against Romualdez and others, his statements could help determine the ins and outs of the alleged kickback scheme.
Remulla also declared Romualdez, whom he called a “big fish,” may expect more charges against him aside from plunder.
Romualdez has been subjected to precautionary hold departure order, money laundering cases and freeze orders since April this year.
The ombudsman divulged Romualdez’s plan to leave the country in July for medical reasons despite the precautionary hold departure order.
Romualdez repeatedly decried the “prejudgment” by the ombudsman against him, especially in calling him the “mastermind” of the flood control scandal.

Palace hands off

Malacañang said it respects the ombudsman’s decision to file a plunder case against Romualdez, as it emphasized the need to promote accountability and to present the evidence related to his case.

“For the President, whoever is accountable should be held to account. Whether it is a relative, an ally or an opponent in politics, whatever the evidence reveals should be disclosed,” Palace press officer Claire Castro said at a media briefing yesterday.

“So it depends on the one who was charged. If they have enough evidence to defend themselves, that would be up to them. And we respect the action of the ombudsman because that is their mandate,” she added.

Castro said she has yet to ask President Marcos about his feelings on the development involving his cousin, whom he mentioned during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July.

“You heard it from the SONA, maybe from there, we can say that he does not have a positive feeling on this development. But if the evidence is screaming, it has to be presented to the people,” she said.

In July, Marcos started his fifth SONA by revealing that cases are being readied against Romualdez. Although he was hurt, he said it has to be done because he is neither the president of his family nor his friends. – Mark Ernest Villeza, Alexis Romero