The camp of former Speaker Martin Romualdez asserted Thursday that the recommendation of plunder charges against him at the Ombudsman and a new set of criminal and administrative charges, both tied to anomalies in the flood control projects, does not amount to a determination of guilt.

Romualdez’s counsel, Ade Fajardo, took exception to the efforts to pin the lawmaker for wrongdoing, contending that the referral by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure does not amount to a case, much less of conviction.

In fact, he said that the report explicitly states that it was “issued without finding or conclusion of guilt or liability on the part of former Speaker Romualdez.”

“We take note of the DPWH Secretary’s statement. However, it is important to clarify that a DPWH ‘recommendation’ is not a finding, much less a determination of guilt,” the camp said. 

“It is not true that the ICI has recommended to the Ombudsman that former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez be charged with plunder or other serious crimes related to the flood control or 2025 budget issue,” it added. 

Romualdez’s camp was referring to the 21 November joint referrals by the ICI and the DPWH, urging Ombudsman Boying Remulla to pursue plunder, graft, and direct bribery charges against Romualdez and resigned lawmaker Elizaldy Co over the alleged irregularities in the flood control projects. 

The referral contains the sworn testimony of whistleblower Orly Guteza in the Senate flood control probe in September, in which he accused Romualdez and Co of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects. 

Guteza, alleged ex-aide of Co, told senators that he delivered suitcases stuffed with cash, amounting to approximately P48 million each, to the residences of Romualdez and Co in McKinley, Taguig, and Valle Verde 6, Pasig, respectively. 

Romualdez rejected the allegations, branding them as “pilit na pilit” (extremely forced), suggesting he was coached.

The erstwhile House leader dismissed it as “impossible,” saying that the property cited by Guteza has been under renovation since January last year, and only construction workers have occupied it.

Co, who is still hiding abroad despite a warrant from the Sandiganbayan, initially denied Guteza’s allegations, but later “came clean” and corroborated the accusations implicating Romualdez and President Marcos Jr. in the alleged kickback scheme. 

He alleged that they received billions of kickbacks from flood control and budget insertions, aside from P2 billion in monthly deliveries, which Marcos and Romualdez dismissed.

According to DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon on Thursday, a new set of criminal and administrative charges against Romualdez and 87 others had been filed in connection with the flood control scandal. 

It remains unclear, however, if it is a joint referral with the ICI to the Ombudsman. 

Romualdez’s camp, however, said they trust “due process and will await the Ombudsman to independently evaluate the submissions based on evidence, not press conference soundbites.”