The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) have recommended the filing of plunder and other charges against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co.
DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon and other ICI officials submitted their joint referral report containing recommendations to the Office of the Ombudsman on Friday morning.
‘The recommended action contained in the second to the last page, Letter A – violation of Republic Act 7080 or an Act Defining and Penalizing the Crime of Plunder; Letter B – violations of Section 3A, B, and E, and H of Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. And finally, violation of Article 210 of the Revised Penal Code on direct bribery,’ Dizon said in a short press conference after the referral.
‘These have actually already been announced by the President in his statement earlier this morning. But these we leave up to the Office of the Ombudsman for further investigation and for eventual filing,’ he added.
Sought for initial comment, Romualdez’ office said the former Speaker was ready to face any charges against him.
According to Dizon, the joint referral includes contracts involving Sunwest Inc. and Hi-Tone Construction from 2016 to 2025, covering projects worth roughly P100 billion (P67 billion for Sunwest and P32 billion for Hi-Tone). The referral also contains the sworn testimonies of retired Sgt. Orly Guteza in relation to Romualdez and Co.
Guteza is the ‘whistleblower’ floated by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, who alleged that suitcases of cash were delivered to the two lawmakers as kickbacks.
However, Guteza failed to appear before the Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) twice after he was summoned over issues surrounding his sworn statement, a document the court later found to contain a falsified or forged notarial signature.
On Sept. 25, Guteza appeared before the Senate blue ribbon committee and read the same sworn statement in connection with alleged anomalies in flood control projects. Guteza had claimed that lawyer Petchie Rose Espera notarized the document, a statement the latter denied, leading her to file an incident report with the Manila RTC.
In that sworn statement, the retired marine personnel alleged that he personally delivered suitcases of cash to the residences of Co and Romualdez.
The DPWH and ICI joint referral comes after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced that cases against Romualdez and Co are already underway in relation to an alleged corruption mess.
‘As I mentioned in my previous report, I will continue to update the public about the cases and the information we are receiving regarding flood control projects that are not in good condition,’ Marcos said in Filipino in a short video statement posted on social media.
‘And so now, I want to inform our countrymen that all the information gathered by the ICI and the DPWH will be referred and turned over to the Ombudsman for investigation. This concerns information about former Speaker Martin Romualdez and Zaldy Co,’ he added.
Marcos said that once all evidence is consolidated, complaints for plunder, violations of the anti-graft law, or indirect bribery may be filed against the two lawmakers.
On Tuesday, the Ombudsman filed two counts of graft and a malversation charge against Co over ‘serious irregularities’ in a P289.4-million road dike project in Oriental Mindoro.
Also named in the complaint were several former DPWH officials and an executive of Sunwest Construction.
The Ombudsman’s panel of prosecutors recommended no bail for the malversation charge, citing that it involved an amount exceeding the P8.8-million threshold.