Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that he was being used as a “scapegoat” amid the heightened investigations into the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.

Romualdez claimed that his silence over the past months, along with that of key figures like former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, was being weaponized to serve political narratives.

“If this is a political play to push me out and close the story, tarnishing my name and my reputation, then I’m telling everyone now. I will not go quietly, and I will not go alone,” he said in a video message on his social media profile.

“I will not be the fall guy for other people’s corruption,” he added.

The solon asserted that such legal issues should be handled through the proper process and should proceed based on evidence already presented through sworn statements submitted to legal avenues.

He also urged the Office of the Ombudsman to be grounded in its approach and to focus on the truth instead of “settling for the easiest headline.”

“This is a serious matter and should be handled with seriousness, not with haste, theatrics, or shortcuts,” he said.

Romualdez maintained that he was ready to face the public and that he was prepared to defend himself through the proper forum.

In an earlier development, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that their office did not favourably respond to a request from the former House speaker to fly to Singapore for a check-up on his angioplasty surgery.

This was despite the House of Representatives, by virtue of a letter from Secretary General Cheloy Garafil providing the green light on the supposed trip that was meant to last from 20 April to 4 May.

Romualdez was cited as one of the masterminds behind the anomalous flood control scandal by Co in a series of videos last November.

Both individuals were part of the bicameral system that approved the 2025 General Appropriations Act, which finance experts regarded as the most corrupt budget in the history of the Philippines.