Romualdez maintains innocence amid ICI flood control probe

Former House speaker Martin Romualdez appeared before the Independent Commission for Infrastructure's (ICI) probe on Tuesday, marking his first public appearance since stepping down from the post in September amid allegations of kickback linked to the botched flood control projects.

The hearing was held behind closed doors, but Romualdez hinted at divulging detailed information about the budget process and congressional insertions, believed to be at the heart of alleged large-scale corruption in the flood mitigation projects of the Marcos administration. 

“I’m very glad that I was invited to the ICI to share my personal knowledge on the budget process and, of course, any information about the insertion on the flood control,” Romualdez told reporters in an ambush after the ICI hearing.

“I was finally given an opportunity to share my side of the story. For now, in a way, it’s about facts and evidence and not only political noise or speculations.”

The erstwhile speaker pledged to fully cooperate and comply with the invitation of the fact-finding body in subsequent hearings, asserting he has “nothing to hide.”

Discredited witnesses

Lawyer Brian Hosaka, ICI Executive Director, told the media that among the issues discussed at the closed-door hearing was the allegation that Romualdez received suitcases laden with billions of alleged kickbacks that were delivered to his residence in Forbes Park, which he said was denied by the lawmaker. 

Senator Rodante Marcoleta’s witness, Orly Guteza—Co’s alleged security aide—claimed in a Senate hearing that he delivered the suitcase of money to the residence of his ex-boss and Romualdez. His affidavit, however, was later disowned by the lawyer who allegedly notarized it.

“Witnesses that were presented are discredited already for having presented falsified documents and testimony,” Romualdez stated.Romualdez pointed out that he was not a member of the bicameral conference committee in the 19th Congress, tasked with crafting the final draft of a bill, including the budget. 

Romualdez, however, vowed to “share any and all information to help determine the truth and to give all the facts and information.”

The bicam panel, composed of selected members of the House and the Senate, are being blamed as the cuplrit behind the alleged massive insertions for flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Elizaldy Co no-show

Both Romualdez and resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co were summoned to the hearing, but the latter was a no-show. His office has yet to issue a statement explaining his absence, but recall that the embattled Co departed the country to seek medication in the United States.

Romualdez and Co were first implicated in the flood control anomalies in early September when big-time contractor Curlee Discaya accused them of receiving 10 to 25 percent kickbacks from projects awarded to his nine firms, which he ran with his wife, Sarah. 

Discaya, however, later claimed during a House hearing that he had no direct dealings with Romualdez and Co., suggesting that their colleagues in the House who asked for commissions might have only used them for leverage.

Co chaired the powerful House committee on appropriations in the previous Congress, but he resigned from the post in early January, barely two weeks after the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), derided by critics as the “most corrupt budget,” took effect. 

Deputy Speaker Ronaldo Puno earlier pointed to Co and former Senate Chiz Escudero as the “masterminds” for the massive insertions in this year’s GAA, accusing them of “pencil[ing] in whatever needed to be penciled in.”

Puno claimed that Co and Escudero made up the so-called small committee of the bicam, with Romualdez and former Senator Grace Poe, who chaired the Senate Finance Committee in the previous Congress. 

Puno said the small committee, which consolidated the independent amendments to the 2025 GAB, held several meetings, in which Romualdez and Poe did not attend, leaving Escudero and Co as the only attendees. 

Unprogrammed funds persists in 2026 budget

The 2025 GAA has been widely criticized for allegedly featuring bloated unprogrammed appropriations (UA), where flood control projects were allegedly charged.

Funds to bankroll flood control projects in 2023 and 2024, worth a staggering P141 billion, were also allegedly drawn from the UA, now at the center of a sweeping corruption probe involving members of Congress, DPWH officials, and private contractors.

The 2025 GAA was initially pegged at P6.352 trillion, but Marcos trimmed it to P6.326 trillion after vetoing P194 billion worth of line items deemed inconsistent with his administration's priority programs, P16.7 billion of which was for flood control.

The UA has swelled unprecedentedly since 2023—Marcos’ first full year in office—reaching nearly P2 trillion, though P168.2 billion was reportedly vetoed in the 2025 GAA. 

Opposition lawmakers branded the UA as a conduit for corruption and pushed to scrap it from the 2026 budget, with an allocation of P250 billion. However, despite mounting calls, the House passed the 2026 GAB on Monday, retaining the UA, though Co’s successor, Mikaela Suansing, assured that the projects under UA will only be funded if the government has extra revenue in 2026. 

The National Bureau of Investigation had already recommended the filing of corruption charges against several members of Congress, including Senators Escudero, Joel Villanueva, Jinggoy Estrada and former lawmaker Co.

Escudero, however, cried foul over Romualdez's non-inclusion in the charge sheet, suggesting selective prosecution.

The Department of Justice, on the other ahnd, attributed the omission of Romualdez in the NBI list for case buildup to the failure of his accuser, Orly Guteza, to appear before the DoJ to submit his affidavit. Romualdez confirmed that he has not been invited to the DOJ hearing.