Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said this Tuesday that his office had denied a request from former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to travel to Singapore to receive a check-up for a recent angioplasty surgery that he received.
Remulla said that Romualdez had contacted their office due to the lookout bulletin issued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) based on an ongoing investigation into the latter’s alleged corruption and misuse of funds allocated for infrastructure projects.
The Ombudsman asserted that they did not respond favourably to the supposed petition, citing the demand’s coincidental nature with respect to the recent arrest of former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co in Europe last week.
“When you join government you already surrender your right to travel specially to another jurisdiction, especially if you're under investigation,” he explained.
“We are just being cautious, we are preserving the rights of our country, Filipinos also have the right to tell him not to leave,” he added in Filipino.
Prior to his request to the Ombudsman, Romualdez had penned a letter to House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy dated 20 April regarding the same request for travel clearance.
In the letter, the former house speaker expressed his commitment to return to the country after his trip which was supposed to take place from 20 April to 4 May.
“I give my unequivocal assurance that I will return to the Philippines immediately upon completion of my medical engagement and remain accessible for any urgent legislative matters during this period,” his message read.
As such, unlike the investigative body, congress had granted the request of the former house speaker based on the stated promise.
Remulla asserted that his decision was meant to serve as a precautionary measure in light of the various allegations directed against Romualdez.
Through a series of videos released in November of 2025, Co accused Romualdez and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of facilitating the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
The former lawmaker further claimed that both individuals had received suitcases of money which were personally delivered by his security, even backing a statement from his supposed former aide, Orly Guteza.
Guteza had testified in one of the Senate’s previous flood control hearings that he made shipments to residences in Forbes Park and even to the Malacanang.
As it currently stands, Remulla said that their office was waiting on the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to issue a freeze order and begin rolling out the criminal cases against Romualdez.
He mentioned that both the former house speaker and Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero were slated to be investigated with regards to cases of money laundering.