First salvo tags Co, Romualdez

In what looked like they were playing catch-up, the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on Friday recommended the filing of corruption charges, including plunder, against former Speaker Martin Romualdez and his former ally, resigned Ako Bicol Representative Zaldy Co, over the multibillion-peso flood control corruption scandal.

ICI panel member Rogelio Singson and DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon filed the referrals before the Ombudsman, along with piles of evidence against Romualdez and Co.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. then ordered the DPWH and the ICI to transmit all the information they had gathered to the Office of the Ombudsman.

In a video-recorded message on Friday, Marcos said the Ombudsman will take over the investigation based on the evidence collected by the two bodies.

Marcos likewise said the Ombudsman will determine whether charges such as plunder, graft, or indirect bribery are warranted once all the evidence is evaluated.

“We are confident the Ombudsman will simply follow the evidence, and wherever the evidence will lead, that is where the investigation will go,” he added.

Malacañang touted the probe into massive flood control anomalies that has advanced in the three months since the launch of the Sumbong ng Pangulo reporting platform on 11 August and the creation of the ICI on 11 September to investigate the infrastructure projects spanning the past decade.

On the heels of outrage

The ICI move came a few days after the massive anti-corruption rally of the Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) that drew 650,000 participants.

Romualdez and Co may also face graft and direct bribery charges.

The case pertains to more than P100 billion in contracts awarded to Co-owned Sunwest Inc. and Hi-Tone Construction from 2016 up to the present.

The referral also contains the sworn testimony of whistleblower Orly Guteza in the Senate flood control probe, where he accused Romualdez and Co of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects, which he regularly delivered to their residences in Forbes Park and Valle Verde 6, Pasig, respectively.

“The referral is a collection of facts; these are the documents from the DPWH. Mostly, these are contracts of companies alleged to be connected to former Cong. Zaldy Co, namely, Sunwest Construction and Hi-Tone Construction,” Dizon said in a briefing.

Prior to the filing, President Marcos, in a televised address, announced that Romualdez and Co will face potential plunder charges as a result of the ongoing investigation into the corruption mess, while affirming that no one will be spared from accountability and liability.

‘Let Ombudsman decide my fate’

Romualdez, in response, countered that the absence of a sworn statement or credible evidence linking him to supposed irregularities in the flood control projects, his “voluntary” submission and cooperation with the ICI, and his continued stay in the country amid the ongoing probe are clear indications of his clear conscience.

Nonetheless, he said he will leave his fate in the hands of Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, whose credibility had been questioned by Co due to his being a fraternity brother of the ex-House speaker.

“It’s now with the Ombudsman. I trust in the Ombudsman’s impartial and thorough review and evaluation. I do so with confidence that a fair and complete assessment of the record will reflect the truth,” Romualdez said.

Back in August, Marcos explicitly tagged Sunwest and Hi-Tone among 15 contractors that bagged P100 billion in flood control projects.

A review of the list of flood control projects available on the Sumbong sa Pangulo website showed Sunwest cornered 79 projects worth over P10 billion from 7 July 2022 to May this year.

The Albay-based Sunwest, formerly Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, was established in 1997 and co-founded by Co.

Sunwest had the most projects in Romblon with 18, while it had 11 and 10 in Leyte and Camarines Sur, respectively. The firm also had projects in Oriental Mindoro (9), Occidental Mindoro (7), Surigao del Sur (7), Albay (5), Marinduque (3), Catanduanes (2), Antique (2), Davao del Sur (1), and Guimaras (1).

Co strikes back

Meanwhile, Hi-Tone, the firm co-founded by Co and his brother and predecessor, Christopher Co, bagged 65 projects nationwide.

Earlier this month, Co alleged that Marcos orchestrated the insertion of P100 billion in the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA), of which P56 billion purportedly went straight to the President and Romualdez.

Co also showed digital shots of nearly 300 suitcases allegedly delivered to Marcos and Romualdez at Malacañang and Forbes Park from January 2024 to May of this year.

Marcos asserted that he “won’t dignify” Co’s allegations, while Romualdez contended that the imputations of his erstwhile ally “do not hold water in the court of law.”

Sandigan warrants issued

As this developed, Marcos announced that arrest warrants from the Sandiganbayan had been issued against Co and 17 other respondents in the corruption cases filed by the Ombudsman in the anti-graft court on Tuesday.

Remulla, in response, ordered the authorities concerned to “execute the warrants without delay,” ensuring that those who defrauded the government will be immediately brought “before the bar of justice.”

According to the ICI, approximately 1,200 individuals could face criminal charges over the fraudulent flood control projects, which the fact-finding body expects to refer to the Ombudsman once it obtains additional documents and evidence from military-police ground troops, who are also investigating the so-called ghost flood control projects nationwide.

Public Works and Highways Secretary Vince Dizon maintained that the recommendation for the filing of plunder raps against Romualdez and Co was based on evidence and not hearsay.

“What we have referred to are documents and sworn testimonies that came from the Blue Ribbon hearings,” Dizon said in an interview during the Pilipinas Conference Forum at The Peninsula Manila.

Dizon said the link between Co and Romualdez was that Co was the chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations when Romualdez was the House Speaker.

“We also based the complaints on the testimony of former Marine Sergeant Orly Guteza at the Blue Ribbon as to the payoffs, which is why we recommended filing a case of direct bribery. These are all based on sworn testimonies and documentation that we have submitted,” he said.

He said that even if the statements of Guteza were earlier questioned because the notary public’s signature was allegedly falsified, the DPWH and ICI lawyers continued to submit their recommendations as the testimony was sworn to by Guteza in the Senate Blue Ribbon hearings.

“That is in contrast to Zaldy Co’s Facebook video, which is not a sworn statement,” he said.