Former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez pleaded "not guilty" to the P7.4-billion plunder charges linked to alleged kickbacks from flood control projects.
Romualdez entered his plea before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday, September 16, during his arraignment, which he attended via videoconference from the New Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory in Payatas, Quezon City.
He is currently detained at the jail’s infirmary, where he is receiving medical supervision.
The Sandiganbayan issued an arrest warrant against Romualdez on September 7 after the Office of the Ombudsman filed a P7.44-billion plunder case against him and three others over alleged kickbacks from government projects funded from 2022 to 2025.
The other respondents are former Ako Bicol party-list Representative Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Sereño, and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation. They remain at large, according to court records cited in reports.
Prosecutors alleged that Romualdez and Co repeatedly received commissions, shares, kickbacks and other financial benefits totaling at least P7.44 billion from contractors and entities involved in flood control, infrastructure and other government projects.
Before the arraignment, Philippine General Hospital Medical doctor told the court that Romualdez was clinically stable and no longer needed confinement in an acute-care hospital, although he still required continued medical care. The Sandiganbayan subsequently ordered his transfer to the Quezon City Jail.
