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 supposed illness.
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.
He noted that it was meant to ensure that the country had control over individuals that it was currently investigating, particularly when issues have yet to be properly addressed.
“When you join government you already surrender your right to travel specially to another jurisdiction, especially if you're under investigation,” he explained.
“Nag-iingat lang po tayo, pinang-iingatan ho natin ang karapatan ng ating bayan, may karapatan din tayong mga Pilipino na sabihin sakanya na wag muna umalis,” he added.
As for the ongoing probe into the former house speaker’s suspected corruption, Remulla said that it was waiting on the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) to issue a freeze order and begin rolling out the criminal cases against Romualdez.
He also mentioned that the case buildup for former Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero was “going well” and that a preliminary investigation on a case of money laundering would soon be launched.