'Humiliating': Ramon Tulfo retracts claim on Romualdez's alleged jail privileges

Ramon Tulfo has retracted his claim that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, currently detained at the Quezon City Jail, was able to freely leave and re-enter the facility.

In a statement released online this Thursday, 5 November, the veteran journalist owned up to his mistake and called it a major disgrace.

"One of the most embarrassing and humiliating experiences as a journalist is to admit that nakuryente ako," he said.

"Nakuryente means I was fed the wrong information and accepted it as gospel truth," Tulfo explained, acknowledging his mistake in failing to verify the information before publishing it.

"I was fed the wrong report that former speaker Martin Romualdez could go in and out of jail. Complete with all the details like riding in an ambulance and the brownouts taking place so he would not be seen going out and coming back in," he added.

"No such thing happened when the facts started coming in yesterday.

It was fiction.

I goofed.

No excuses."

According to the earlier claim, the former House Speaker was allegedly taken out via an ambulance during a power outage to evade the CCTV.

Meanwhile, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla strongly denied the allegation. The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) also released CCTV footage showing Romualdez guarded by a police officer inside the detention facility on 4 November.

Meanwhile, the Sandiganbayan Third Division still ordered the BJMP to submit a notarized report and review CCTV footage regarding Romualdez's whereabouts, along with other documents such as vehicle logbooks, power interruption records, medical records, and visitors who may have approached Romualdez. The BJMP was also directed to appear at a hearing on Thursday to clarify Romualdez's current status.