Vice President Sara Duterte yesterday backed the claim of a former member of the Philippine Marines who testified that he personally delivered ‘basura’ or suitcases containing millions of pesos to the residence of then House speaker Martin Romualdez.
‘When I was asked this morning on whether I believe the reports of enormous suitcases of money being delivered to the house of Martin Romualdez, my answer was yes. Yes, because this fits the previous reports of him accepting bribes,’ Duterte said in a statement.
During his testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, Master Sergeant Orly Regala Guteza, a former member of the Philippine Marines, claimed to have worked as security consultant to resigned Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co.
It was Sen. Rodante Marcoleta who introduced Guteza as a witness, and even appeared to coach him into sticking to his prepared sworn affidavit.
Guteza claimed he personally delivered 46 Rimowa luggage bags, each containing P48 million, to the posh residences of Co and Romualdez.
Guteza called the cash ‘basura’ or trash, a common law enforcement term for contraband, which in this case was the congressmen’s alleged illegal proceeds from flood control projects.
‘His name has surfaced time and again whenever questions of corruption are raised. Even in the Delaware Court proceedings involving the Okada Manila casino, evidence was presented that he was the ‘common friend’ used to intervene, with references to heavy luggage brought to him as part of a dubious bargain,’ Duterte added.
She noted the Delaware court’s ruling in 26 Capital Corp v Tiger Resort Asia Ltd. docketed as C.A. No. 2023-0128- JTL, which revealed that ‘Martin Romualdez was mentioned no less than 17 times – thrice on Page 37, thrice on Page 38, seven times on Page 39, twice on Page 40, once on Page 58 and once again on Page 63.’
‘In sum, the court refused to be swayed by the implausible claim that the heavy luggage delivered to Martin Romualdez only contained documents,’ she said.
According to Duterte, these are not mere coincidences, but rather ‘form a disturbing pattern.’
Duterte said she repeatedly questioned the judgment of President Marcos in choosing Romualdez as speaker of the House of Representatives, especially after the Delaware court ruling was issued.
‘Sadly, President Marcos continues to display this flawed judgment by merely changing the leadership in both houses of Congress, while keeping a stranglehold on the flood-control probe through the creation of what is supposed to be an Independent Commission on Infrastructure that is clearly under his control,’ she said.
Romualdez denied the allegation, calling the testimony a ‘complete fabrication’ and ‘a product of coaching.’
Meanwhile, following Co’s resignation from the House, his fellow Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. and Cebu 5th district Rep. Duke Frasco clashed on the issue of accountability.
Frasco cited that under Section 141 (h) of the House rules, ‘A member shall not acquire or receive any personal pecuniary interest in any specific business enterprise which will be directly and particularly favored or benefited by any law or resolution authored by the member that is approved or adopted by Congress during the member’s term.’
Yet as a shareholder of construction firms that secured contracts funded by the General Appropriations Act and as co-conspirator in the insertion of billions for projects that benefited himself and his cohorts, Frasco said that Co clearly breached this rule, among other existing laws.
In response, Garbin said that Frasco’s press release alleging ‘impunity’ on the part of Co and the Ako Bicol party-list rests on conjecture rather than fact.
Garbin said that Co should be given due process.