Romualdez lawyer: He respects the court, will face allegations

MANILA, Philippines — Former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez respects the legal process and will face the allegations against him in accordance with the law, his lawyer said after the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder charges against him over alleged infrastructure corruption.

In a statement on Monday, Romualdez’s lawyer and spokesperson Ade Fajardo said that while they recognize the public interest surrounding his client, they stress that criminal liability “must be determined by evidence presented in court.”

“We respect the courts and the legal process. [Leyte] Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez will face the allegations against him in accordance with law,” Fajardo said.

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“We recognize the public interest surrounding this case. But ultimately, criminal liability must be determined by the evidence presented in court, under the rules and safeguards of our justice system,” he added.

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According to Fajardo, Romualdez is not seeking any special treatment, but only the same due process and fairness given to everyone.

“Representative Romualdez asks for no special treatment. He asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino. Truth, evidence, and a fair process should prevail,” Fajardo added.

The Office of the Ombudsman earlier filed a plunder case against Romualdez, former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, and two other co-accused before the Sandiganbayan over alleged kickbacks worth over P7 billion.

READ: Martin Romualdez charged with plunder

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According to the information containing the formal charges filed by prosecutors before the anti-graft court, Romualdez and Co were charged with “repeatedly receiving, directly or indirectly, on at least fifteen (15) occasions, commissions, shares, percentages, kickbacks, ‘commitments’ and/or other pecuniary benefits” worth at least P7.44 billion.

Also charged were Romualdez’s staff Jocelyn Sereño and a certain Felecito Guevarra, president of a money changer corporation.

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The amount allegedly came from contractors, persons, and entities with interests in flood control, infrastructure, and/or other government projects funded under the General Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2022 to 2025, according to the information.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said in his press conference that it took some time before they filed their information because they did not want to submit “a case that is still raw.”

“We want the evidence to be there already. That’s what we did here, the process was not easy,” he added.

Romualdez has been accused of facilitating budget insertions to implement anomalous infrastructure programs and receiving kickbacks from these projects.

The lawmaker and his legal team have insisted that he is not involved in any wrongdoing, saying several times that as speaker, he does not have control over every step of the budget-making process in Congress.

Several witnesses, including Orly Guteza and 18 former security aides of ex-Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, later recanted their statements about their alleged involvement in a money-delivery scheme.

Guteza claimed that Senator Rodante Marcoleta and former Anakalusugan party-list Rep. Mike Defensor came up with the idea to fabricate a story, saying in an Aug. 13 affidavit that he had no personal knowledge of the alleged delivery of “maleta” (suitcases) containing cash to Co’s Pasig residence or Romualdez’s residence in Taguig.

READ: Guteza recants: Marcoleta, Defensor tapped me to accuse Romualdez

In August, four of the 18 former Co bodyguards claimed in a report aired by GMA that they signed the joint affidavit because they had allegedly been promised financial assistance.

They were referring to the affidavit that they signed and presented during a February 24, 2026, press briefing along with Baligod, who was their lawyer. The 18 bodyguards made the same claims as Guteza — claiming that they were involved in the delivery of cash from Co to different lawmakers.

Romualdez used these recantations to bolster his claim that the charges against him should be dropped.

Last August 20, Romualdez’s camp submitted a supplemental counter-affidavit to the Office of the Ombudsman, citing the recantations and the sworn statements of 25 of Co’s former drivers and security aides as reasons to junk the complaints against him.

READ: Romualdez: Baligod urged 25 Co aides to join ‘18 bodyguards’

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The supplemental counter-affidavit that Romualdez submitted stated that some of Co’s 25 former security aides were initially asked by lawyer Levito Baligod to join the cause of the “18 bodyguards” in exchange for financial benefit. /mcm