The United States has revoked the diplomatic and tourist visas of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez amid his alleged involvement in the flood control controversy, a US envoy said, according to reports.
Philippine Ambassador Babes Romualdez, first cousin of the erstwhile House chief, reportedly confirmed the development on Friday, although no further details were provided for the revocation.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has yet to respond to queries concerning its validity.
Romualdez has been temporarily barred from leaving the country pending corruption-related cases at the Ombudsman.
Earlier this week, the Sandiganbayan junked his request to lift the travel ban despite his insistence that he is not a flight risk.
The anti-graft court previously flagged Romualdez as likely to evade prosecution and arrest by traveling overseas amid the cases he is facing, such as plunder and graft, among others.
These charges, however, are still not yet filed in court and remain at the preliminary probe.
The former House speaker has been accused of involvement in the alleged anomalies or “insertions” in the 2025 budget, where ghost and substandard flood control projects purportedly flourished.
Romualdez, however, repeatedly denied the corruption allegations, asserting that although he was the Speaker when the previous Congress passed the 2025 budget, he was neither part of the bicameral conference committee nor the so-called “small committee” responsible for last-minute revisions to the General Appropriations Bill before it was passed by both houses.
Earlier, he warned that he would be a “scapegoat” or “fall guy for other people’s corruption,” maintaining that the national expenditure proposals originate from the executive and that Congress’ role is strictly limited to deliberating and appropriation, not the implementor of the projects.
The 2025 GAA has been widely criticized for allegedly featuring bloated unprogrammed appropriations (UA), the so-called standby funds, where flood control projects were reportedly charged.
Funds worth a staggering P141 billion to bankroll flood control projects in 2023 and 2024 were allegedly drawn from the UA, which has been at the center of a sweeping corruption probe involving members of Congress, DPWH officials, and private contractors.
The UA, deemed by opposition lawmakers a conduit for corruption, has allegedly swelled to unprecedented levels since 2023—Marcos’ first full year in office—reaching nearly P2 trillion, though P168.2 billion was reportedly part of the vetoed items in the 2025 GAA.
The 2025 GAA was initially pegged at P6.352 trillion but was subsequently reduced to P6.326 trillion after President Marcos vetoed P194 billion worth of line items deemed inconsistent with his administration's priority programs, including P16.7 billion for flood control.
