Manila, Philippines – In his privilege speech on Monday, former Senate President Chiz Escudero broke his silence, pointing out former House Speaker Martin Romualdez should be invited in the ongoing investigation of alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
Escudero stated that Romualdez is no longer the leader of the House, yet his name seems to still be consistently left out of the investigations.
In a budget hearing in 2023 Escudero questioned the DPWH budget, which had a higher allocation than departments with greater funding needs.
He also mentioned that Romualdez himself is behind the mess and is deliberately steering the issue away from the House just to cover up those accountable for the anomalies in flood control and ghost projects.
Meanwhile former Marine Corps Sergeant Orly Guteza is also a significant matter, as he allegedly delivered boxes of money to Romualdez and ex-Congressman Zaldy Co.
He also pointed to the former Speaker as the mastermind trying to pin the anomalies on him.
In a statement, Romualdez, however, told Escudero to face the allegations involving him in the flood control project anomalies instead of directing the blame to others.
In the latest update, Co and Romualdez are set to be invited to the next hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to explain their alleged involvement in the anomalies.
Senate President Pro Tempore and Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said that before this, a letter must first be routed through House Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III before being sent to Romualdez, in adherence to “interparliamentary courtesy.”