Romualdez slams shifting narrative

Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez said that his continued prosecution at the Office of the Ombudsman could no longer be “justified” given the recent change of narratives from the witnesses that were used to establish his involvement in flood control.

Romualdez expressed this sentiment in his supplemental counter-affidavit, which he submitted to the anti-graft body Thursday and which includes affidavits from 25 security aides of former congressman Zaldy Co.

The 25 individuals denied knowledge of, and any participation in, deliveries of cash-filled suitcases to numerous public officials, supposedly sourced from infrastructure kickbacks.

Such statements directly contradicted the affidavits of the 18 bodyguards that were presented to the public by Atty. Levito Baligod earlier in the year.

In the presence of “conflicting” testimonies, the Leyte representative said that it should be the side of the innocent that must be “upheld.”

“The purpose of a preliminary investigation is to shield the innocent from precipitate, spiteful, and burdensome prosecution, and to spare the respondent the trauma of trial where the evidence, tested at the outset, cannot sustain a prima facie case,” his affidavit read.

Romualdez noted that the 25 affidavits attached to his submission came from individuals who worked for Co and his family from 2019 to 2026.

He asserted that it would be far-fetched to assume that the security aides never came across such an anomalous scheme.