Romualdez camp denies Ombudman's allegations, claims no evidence exists

Romualdez camp denies Ombudman's allegations, claims no evidence exists The camp of Leyte 1st District Representative and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez has maintained that there is no evidence linking the former speaker to flood control project anomalies. According to Tina Panganiban-Perez’s report on “24 Oras” on Thursday, the Office of the Ombudsman alleged that Romualdez was the mastermind behind the flood control scam. “Yung grand case of conspiracy and plunder na ang pinakapuno’t dulo nun ay si former Speaker Martin Romualdez,” said Office of the Ombudsman spokesperson Mico Clavano. But Romualdez’s camp denied the allegations. “Despite numerous Senate and House inquiries and other official investigations, no former or incumbent DPWH official has ever identified Rep. Romualdez as having participated in the planning, procurement, implementation, inspection, payment, or release of funds for any alleged ghost project,” said Elaine Atienza, the spokesperson for Romualdez. The Romualdez camp has also disputed the Ombudsman’s allegations that the House leadership previously manipulated the budget prepared by former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan. This comes as the Office of the Ombudsman intends to tap Bonoan as a state witness. “Even former DPWH Secretary Manuel Bonoan—despite all opportunities in the past and - who had firsthand knowledge of the Department’s operations—never implicated Rep. Romualdez. Simple lang kung bakit - because Rep. Romualdez was not involved,” said Atienza. Romualdez’s spokesperson maintained that the budgeting process involves multiple stakeholders and that no single individual exercises absolute control over it, including the House Speaker. The spokesperson further clarified that the actual execution and implementation of the approved budget fall strictly under the mandate of the executive branch. “The Speaker has absolutely no authority over project bidding, contract awards, implementation, inspections, payments, or the release of government funds. Hindi nya po saklaw ang pagpapa-release ng budget. Those are functions vested by law in the Executive Branch,” said Atienza. “Kung may nagkasala, papanagutin natin. Pero huwag nating gawing shortcut ang paghahanap ng isang malaking pangalan para lang may maipakita sa publiko,” she added. (If someone did something wrong, let us hold them accountable. But let’s not take a shortcut by hunting for a big name just to have something to show the public.) GMA News is reaching out to the Ombudsman for a comment. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/LDF, GMA News