House of Marcos-Romualdez now a house of cards

Business circles and dinner parties among the well-heeled crowd over the past several days have been buzzing with only two hot topics: Martin Romualdez’s fate and the Lopez war – both about families fractured by wealth and power, a Shakespearean tragedy of sorts.

It’s hard to believe that the former speaker, a powerful tycoon-politician and among the most influential figures in this administration, would actually come close to facing justice despite allegations implicating him in the unprecedented, trillion-peso flood control scandal – assertions he has repeatedly denied.

But when he spoke on national TV, with all seriousness and visibly angry, you know that the House of Marcos-Romualdez is now fractured. Marcos is sending a signal to the public that his administration is willing to go after his cousin.

Romualdez’s bank accounts and other assets have also reportedly been ordered frozen by the Court of Appeals.

From brods to battle lines

The bold and difficult task of going after Romualdez has fallen on the shoulders of Ombudsman Crispin “Boying” Remulla. Remulla is not only Romualdez’s fraternity brod at the influential Upsilon Sigma Phi, but also the Illustrious Fellow when Martin entered the fraternity in 1985 – a father figure of sorts to the new entrants. This meant something in that thing they call brotherhood but perhaps not as much as Boying’s quest for justice.

This unfolding dynamic between Remulla and Romualdez reminds me of that age-old joke thrown by non-Upsilonians about Upsilonians – that whatever is happening in the Philippines, both good and bad, there is always an Upsilonian involved.

Of course, it’s hard to believe that Remulla’s move to go after his former neophyte would happen without the go-signal of BBM, so the way I see it, BBM wants to satisfy the public’s clamor to bring a big fish to justice.

Filipinos have been waiting for that, especially since among current and ex-politicians, it’s only former senator Bong Revilla who is actually detained in relation to the flood control corruption.

Even the country’s tycoons are all quietly waiting for justice to be served, especially to the big players.
This, after all, would send a strong message against the corrupt and hopefully prevent a repeat of such thievery, or at least of this magnitude.

Martin’s fight

But the implication of this would be far-reaching and ugly, especially with Martin threatening that he will not go down without a fight in what is sounding like a real life political thriller.

“To those who think they can throw me under the bus to save themselves, this is what I have to say to you. I am ready to defend my name.

“I will not go quietly, and I will not go alone,” a stern and angry Martin has warned, obviously a signal to his cousin BBM, the only one who can throw him under the bus.

Martin also hinted that he knows where the bodies are buried.

“I will not be the fall guy for other people’s corruption. I have been in public life long enough. I have seen enough. I have heard enough. I know many things about this current administration and past administrations as well.”

Martin did not name names but he talked of command responsibility, which points to BBM himself and if the grapevine talk is to be believed, Martin may also implicate presidential son Sandro Marcos.

This is not the end for sure and Martin will fight back. He has the power and the resources to do so.

Martin’s fighting stance could mean absolute chaos in the country, at least politically. And the noise will be louder, especially with the ongoing hearings related to the impeachment of Vice President Sara Duterte.

We can only hope this does not distract the government from more pressing issues amid the ongoing energy crisis.

Spotted in a meeting with lawyers

On Friday, mobile phones were buzzing with speculation that Martin had already left the country but my sources said he was spotted that evening at the posh and über exclusive Manila Golf Club in Makati in a meeting with lawyers.

There’s no telling yet how this “Martin-is-the-villain” chapter in Marcos 2.0’s story will unfold, but it may be bad for BBM.

Depending on who Martin implicates, BBM may end up facing impeachment charges as well. Something he was shielded from when Martin was speaker.

Here’s what I hope will happen in the end.

That whoever the mastermind of this insane looting of taxpayers’ money meant for flood control projects would really be identified and pursued;

That everyone involved – big and small fish alike – would all be brought to justice;

That what we’re seeing now isn’t just a show staged by the House of Marcos-Romualdez to satisfy the public’s clamor for resolution;

And that long-term fixes in our institutions would be put in place so this does not happen again – demonetizing the versions of the large bills that circulated last year or prior years; strengthening the Anti-Money Laundering Council; implementing caps on high-value cash transactions with no exemptions and digitalization of payments.

For now, we have to see it to believe it – how far Ombudsman Remulla’s determination goes, how the presidential cousin will fight back and how the whole flood control story will actually end.

Will the system, for once, finally hold and the guilty be made to answer?

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Email: [email protected]. Follow her on X @eyesgonzales. Column archives at EyesWideOpen on FB.