The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Tuesday said it has not logged any recent travel by Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Sen. Chiz Escudero, and businessman Maynard Ngu, who are subject to a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO).
The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division issued a PHDO against Escudero and Ngu on Monday, while the same order was implemented by the Seventh Division of the anti-graft court against Romualdez on April 22.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval confirmed that the bureau has already received the PHDOs issued by the anti-graft court for the three personalities.
‘The said order has been immediately implemented and included in the BI’s derogatory record,’ Sandoval said of the PHDOs of Escudero and Ngu in a text message to Inquirer.
Asked if the BI already received the PHDO for Romualdez, Sandoval said: ‘Yes.’
Also asked if Escudero and Ngu have travel history, Sandoval said: ‘No recent travel record.’
Sandoval also said Romualdez also had ‘no recent travel’ when asked about the former House speaker’s travel history.
A PHDO is a written court order directing BI to prevent any attempt by a person suspected of a crime punishable by a minimum penalty of at least six years and one day from leaving the country.
The resolution is based solely on the finding that there is a high likelihood that the respondent will flee the country and does not determine the respondent’s guilt.
Escudero is among those implicated by state witness and former undersecretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways Roberto Bernardo in the flood control anomalies.
The former Senate president has denied the allegations of Bernardo.
‘I vehemently deny the malicious allegations and innuendos made by former DPWH Usec. Roberto Bernardo in today’s Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. By his own admission, he never had any contact with me directly regarding this matter — and I will prove that he is lying about my alleged involvement,’ Escudero said.
Ngu, head CEO of Cosmic Technologies which is behind Cherry Mobile, had also donated P30 million to Escudero’s campaign in 2022.
During the Senate blue ribbon committee hearing in September last year, Bernardo alleged that Ngu once asked him to submit a list of projects for inclusion in the General Appropriations Act and agreed on a 20-percent cut purportedly intended for Escudero.
The state witness also alleged that he personally delivered P160 million and P120 million to Ngu at Ngu’s Manila office.
As for Romualdez, the Office of the Ombudsman said it has made a preliminary finding of probable cause against Romualdez for plunder, direct and indirect bribery, and money laundering.
‘The complaint-affidavit involves the alleged kickback scheme tied to flood control projects, purportedly masterminded by the respondent, with the total amount of such kickbacks reaching approximately [P56 billion],’ the complaint-affidavit for Romualdez stated.
After the PHDO was sought, Romualdez broke his silence and vehemently denied that he is a ‘mastermind’ of the flood control budget mess, while saying he will not be allowed to be turned into a ‘scapegoat.’
Romualdez said in a video address: ‘How can I be the mastermind? I was the former speaker of the House of Representatives. But the House of Representatives is only part of one branch of government: the legislature. The national budget is not conceived, executed, implemented, bid out, supervised, and completed by one congressman or even by Congress alone. And certainly not by the speaker of the House.’
Previously, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the anti-graft body could possibly file before the anti-graft court in May a plunder case against Escudero and Romualdez.