The camp of former Speaker Martin Romualdez believes the Office of the Ombudsman may “pressure” former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan into implicating him in the alleged flood-control scam.

In a statement Sunday, Romualdez’s spokesperson, Atty. Ade Fajardo, called on the agency to allow the President’s first cousin to respond to all allegations.

“We are requesting the Ombudsman to inform us if there is any allegation from Secretary Bonoan against former Speaker Romualdez and to give us ample time to comment on it,” Fajardo said.

“Fair play and due process require that such information and opportunity be accorded to us at this point in the process, the preliminary investigation stage, not if and when the Ombudsman decides to file charges in court,” he added.

The lawyer made the call to the Ombudsman just days after the former secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) was formally discharged as a conspirator in the plunder and graft case before the Sandiganbayan Fifth Division.

Bonoan’s release came after state prosecutors submitted an amended information containing his exclusion from the charges. A similar request was denied by the anti-graft court’s Second Division.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla had previously said that the former Cabinet official’s release would be impactful in the case against Romualdez and other flood-control suspects, as he supposedly had insider information on the transactions that took place at the DPWH.

28 other witnesses

In a recent interview, however, Remulla clarified that Bonoan was no longer necessarily going to be classified as a “state witness” but would still be afforded similar benefits.

So far, there has been no information regarding the actual claims that Bonoan may have against the former Speaker.

The lawyer recalled that no one from the DPWH had ever implicated or pointed to Romualdez as one of the beneficiaries of the multibillion-peso kickback scheme involving infrastructure projects.

“There has been no accusation from any of them since this controversy erupted more than a year ago. Of course, it would surprise us, to say the least, if an allegation surfaces now or in the future,” he said.

Aside from the former DPWH executive, Fajardo referenced reports that the Ombudsman had 28 other witnesses whose testimonies concerned the involvement of his client in kickback schemes, and sought a similar opportunity to respond to such statements.

The case against the former Speaker is undergoing preliminary investigation at the Ombudsman, with the case presumed to be up for resolution after Romualdez’s camp submitted a supplemental counter-affidavit on 20 August.