The arrest of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was not easy for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., whom Romualdez considers more like a brother than a cousin, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla.
In a press briefing on Tuesday, Remulla told reporters that President Marcos did not give any instruction or interfere in the arrest of Romualdez, who is among those facing a plunder case linked to the alleged P7.4-billion flood control kickbacks.
“Hindi lang magpinsan 'yan, magkapatid 'yan. Walang kapatid na lalaki si President, so ito ang pinakamalapit na pinsan niya,” Remulla said.
“Kung akala ninyong madali para sa kanya, hindi,” he added.
The DILG chief said there were “zero” instructions from the President regarding the operation, adding that his phone logs would show that there were no conversations with Marcos leading up to the arrest.
“In fact, between the President, the Ombudsman and I, hindi kami nag-usap for the last six days bago nangyari 'to,” Remulla said.
He said he only submitted a report to Malacañang after the operation on a reportorial basis.
Remulla also acknowledged his close personal ties with Romualdez and Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla, his brother, saying they were fraternity brothers and longtime friends.
However, he stressed that personal relationships would not stand in the way of enforcing the law.
“Wala hong kaibigan, wala hong fraternity brother, wala hong pinsan si Presidente. Ang batas ang batas. Ang utos ng korte ang susundin namin,” Remulla said.
The Sandiganbayan Third Division issued arrest warrants against Romualdez and three other accused on Monday, hours after the Office of the Ombudsman filed the case in connection with the alleged P7.4-billion flood control kickbacks.
Romualdez is currently confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City due to an alleged cardiovascular ailment and unstable blood pressure following an anxiety attack.
Meanwhile, authorities are also pursuing other accused in the case, including former lawmaker Zaldy Co, who the DILG earlier said is believed to be hiding in France.
