Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez formally entered a not guilty plea Wednesday for his case of plunder at the Sandiganbayan Third Division over an alleged accumulation of P7.4 billion in ill-gotten wealth between 2022 to 2025.

Romualdez appeared in his arraignment and pre-trial hearing through videoconferencing after his camp submitted an urgent motion for the same. He is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory in Payatas.

Prior to being held at the detention facility, the lawmaker was confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan and later at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).

He was admitted to the said hospitals for complaints of chest pain and breathing difficulties. Last Monday, 14 September, officials from the UP-PGH said that Romualdez was “clinically stable” and could be treated through an outpatient arrangement.

Aside from the representative of the 1st District of Leyte, former congressman Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s household staff Joselyn Sereno, and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation President Felicito Guevarra were also charged with plunder.

All three individuals remain at-large as Co is reportedly overseas seeking asylum while law enforcement authorities said that Sereno and Guevarra were not at the registered addresses that were indicated in the complaint.

Based on the information submitted by the Office of the Ombudsman, the four accused had allegedly conspired with Romualdez and Co said to have committed an “offense in relation to their office and taking advantage thereof.”

While Romualdez was Speaker of the House of Representatives, the former Ako Bicol partylist representative was the chairperson of the powerful House Committee on Appropriations and took part in crafting the 2025 General Appropriations Act.

In a statement after filing its case on 7 September, the Ombudsman said that Romualdez had an “institutional influence” as a leader of the House based on their resolution.

It was further stated that the lawmaker had “uninterrupted control and meaningful participation over the national budget” due to his friendship with Co.

The P7.4 billion amount, on the other hand, was reportedly received by Romualdez from Co’s staff on 15 separate occasions–all of which was allegedly received by Sereno.

The former House Speaker was said to have spent roughly P5 billion of the total amount on making dummy companies that state investigators identified as Golden Pheasant Holdings Corporation, Braavos Holdings OPC and Valiant Consolidated Resources, Inc.

The Ombudsman noted that some amounts were changed into a different currency with the help of Guevarra.

Among the witnesses that the anti-graft body said it used in the case were Co’s alleged bagmen, and former DPWH officials Roberto Bernardo and Henry Alcantara–both of whom are state witnesses.

“The story, system, and manner of how Romualdez amassed ill-gotten wealth is clear and straightforward. In the fight against corruption, the Ombudsman is not biased to anyone but the public,” the Ombudsman’s statement read.

With the arraignment finished, the Third Division set Romualdez’s pre-trial hearing on 18 September.