Manila, Philippines – Navotas City lone district Rep. Tobias “Toby” Tiangco in his recent statements revived the corruption allegations against former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez.
This is in line with Romualdez’s alleged involvement and command responsibility over the alleged budget insertions on flood control projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Tiangco claimed that the Independent Commission for Infastructure (ICI) recommended the filing of plunder cases against Romualdez after being implicated in the flood control scandal.
Tingog Partylist Representative Rep. Jude Acidre immediately responded over the matter emphasizing that there is no such recommendation.
He then claimed that ICI’s referral found no liability on Romualdez’s end.
“The ICI referral itself, signed by retired Supreme Court justice Andres Reyes, explicitly states: ‘This referral is issued without any finding or conclusion of guilt or liability on the part of former speaker Martin Romualdez.’ That is not interpretation. That is the Commission’s own language,” Acidre said.
On Monday, the ICI was quick to debunk these interpretations.
In a press release, ICI refuted Acidre’s interpretation, citing it as selective and does not include the full context.
ICI emphasized the the referral was submitted without findings or condlusion on the the guilt and liability of Romualdez from the accusations.
However, this does not mean that ICI have had determined Romualdez’s innoncence or guilt.
The commission noted that the recommendation is aim at referring the matter before the Office of the Ombudsman for a deeper investigation.
ICI explained that as a fact-finding body, it has no prosecutional authority and their mandate is to submit recommendations for the filing of related cases.
In this matter, the referral is ICI transmitting the documents and evidence gathered from their probe with Romualdez to the Ombudsman that will continue the investigation and file related cases.
Amid the various interpretations, ICI clarified that the referral do not declare Romualdez guilty, but does not absolved him as well.
ICI assured that all of their referrals and actions went through a thorough process and evaluation, using verified information, testimonies, and evidence gathered by the commission.–Mia Layaguin, Eurotv News