The arrest of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez on plunder charges should put to rest criticisms that President Marcos Jr. is a weak leader who lacks the resolve to turn on allies, Senator Ping Lacson said Monday.

“Let the trial proceed and let the evidence speak. Most importantly, the former Speaker is now given his day in court,” he said in a post on X shortly after authorities served a Sandiganbayan warrant on Romualdez, who was confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.

“The Ombudsman likewise deserves all the praise and support from the Filipino people,” Lacson added.

Romualdez is a first cousin of Marcos.

Lacson had been on the receiving end of accusations, particularly from opposition senator and now detained Senator Rodante Marcoleta, of shielding Romualdez and other politicians allied with the administration by “deliberately” avoiding leads pointing to their culpability.

Recall that the BRC report drafted by Lacson drew backlash from the Senate minority for allegedly being biased by singling out their peers, while excluding members of the House of Representatives who were also implicated in the supposed kickback scheme. 

Lacson has long denied shielding the former Speaker, claiming he repeatedly invited Romualdez to the BRC hearing but cannot compel him to attend, citing inter-parliamentary courtesy.

Romualdez has repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged insertions in the 2025 General Appropriations Act, which were said to have paved the way for the kickback scheme in the flood control projects.

Romualdez asserted that, while he was the Speaker when the 19th Congress passed the 2025 budget, he was neither part of the bicameral conference committee nor the so-called “small committee.”

Instead, he explicitly tagged then-Senate President Chiz Escudero and ex-lawmaker Elizaldy Co as “instrumental” in making budget decisions, as they were part of the small committee allegedly responsible for last-minute revisions to the 2025 General Appropriations Bill after the House and the Senate approved it.

Romualdez had claimed that he would not let himself be a “scapegoat” or “fall guy for other people’s corruption.”