Vice President Sara Duterte didn’t hold back on Monday, claiming that she had long been aware of alleged cash deliveries to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez — money she said that was literally stuffed in suitcases.

“We’ve known about this for a long time because it’s been talked about for a long time. Ever since we took office as president and vice president, we’ve been hearing about money being delivered in suitcases,” said Duterte in Filipino in a press briefing on Monday.

The issue only hit the headlines recently, she added, after a witness came forward claiming to have personally delivered the suitcases.

“It’s not surprising for Martin Romualdez, because he was already involved in handling heavy luggage at Okada,” she quipped.

Duterte was referring to the bribery case involving Romualdez in Delaware, USA, saying: “If you remember the state of Delaware case in America, his name came up there. It was mentioned that he received money placed in luggage. That’s exactly how their modus operandi works.”

The case in Delaware arose from a bitter ownership clash between Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. — part of Universal Entertainment (UE) — and 26 Capital Acquisition Corp., a Delaware-based investment company. The legal battle, triggered by a failed merger, ran from 25 August to 7 September 2023.

Court documents showed that on 27 July 2022, UE handed Romualdez a “heavy luggage” containing an unspecified item in exchange for his intervention in the Okada ownership takeover. According to filings, Okada executives had approached him after receiving no response from the Philippine Supreme Court on an urgent motion for reconsideration filed earlier that year.

Romualdez has denied the bribery claim and said he was “never contacted” to appear in the US court.

Into illegal gambling, too

Duterte also accused former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez of receiving kickbacks not only from government flood control projects but also from illegal gambling.

“Not just flood control. Even in illegal gambling, they receive funds — Martin Romualdez,” Duterte said.

She added that while some of the money may have come from flood control projects, there are many other sources of corruption.

Duterte refused to name the staffer who provided her the information, citing fear for the person’s safety.

She confirmed the tip came from a Romualdez staffer who had also warned her about attacks on the Office of the Vice President’s confidential funds.

“The Marcos administration is no longer stable amid corruption allegations. Our institutions are clearly abused for personal gain. Witness testimonies reveal ongoing corruption, yet practically nothing is being done,” Duterte said.