Tiangco: President Marcos scolded Romualdez, wanted House corruption stopped

MANILA, Philippines — President Marcos scolded former House speaker Rep. Martin Romualdez and wanted corruption in the lower chamber to stop, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco said Friday.

In an interview with “Storycon” on One News, Tiangco recalled a Nov. 24, 2024 meeting where Marcos allegedly scolded his cousin over budget insertions that led to a lack of funding for his flagship projects.

Tiangco said Romualdez committed to restoring funds for the President’s flagship programs, but the approved final version of the 2025 budget saw additional cuts, further angering Marcos.

Romualdez cannot deny knowledge of the supposed corruption scheme at the House, Tiangco maintained, as he recalled his attempts in 2023 to lobby for additional funding for his district.

Tiangco said he did not proceed with the request after being asked for a “fee” in exchange for the insertions.

Days after the meeting with Marcos, Romualdez supposedly received a text message from the President pushing for a “change of leadership,” Tiangco added.

Tiangco also defended Marcos from corruption allegations made by resigned congressman Zaldy Co.

“What he’s saying about insertions (benefiting Marcos) has no logic. The budget comes from the executive. If the President wanted to include certain projects, he would have already placed them in the NEP (National Expenditure Program),” he said.

“Why would he (Marcos) wait for the bicam to insert those projects? That doesn’t make sense. There’s no logic in that, so it shouldn’t be believed,” he added.

Co, who is currently outside the country, accused Marcos of receiving P25 billion in kickbacks from projects inserted in the national budget totaling P100 billion.

A former House appropriations panel chair, Co is allegedly the mastermind behind the mangling of the country’s budget.