Vice President Sara Duterte has openly accused former House Speaker Martin Romualdez of receiving kickbacks from illegal gambling operations, in addition to his alleged involvement in corrupt infrastructure deals.
Speaking to reporters at the Senate on Monday, Duterte said she was not surprised by recent revelations involving suitcase deliveries supposedly filled with billions of pesos in cash — allegedly proceeds from anomalous flood control projects — delivered directly to Romualdez.
“Matagal naman namin na alam ‘yan dahil matagal naman na ‘yan pinag-uusapan. Simula pa lang noong pagpasok namin as President and Vice President, naririnig na namin ‘yung delivery ng mga pera na nakalagay sa mga suitcases. Pero ngayon lang siya lumabas in public dahil merong witness na nagsabi na siya mismo ang nagdadala nung mga suitcases na ‘yon,” Duterte said.
Duterte further claimed that this is not the first time Romualdez has been linked to suspicious luggage.
“Hindi siya odd for Martin Romualdez because he was already involved in heavy luggages doon sa Okada case. Kung maalala ninyo doon sa State of Delaware, uh case sa America, nabanggit na ’yung pangalan niya doon at nabanggit na rin ‘yung pangalan niya doon na tumatanggap ng ah pera na nakalagay sa luggages. So ganun talaga ‘yung modus nila,” she added.
The vice president accused Romualdez of having multiple streams of illicit income, including from illegal gambling, suggesting this is yet another avenue for corruption.
In a swift response, Romualdez dismissed Duterte’s claims as baseless and politically motivated.
“These stories about ‘suitcases of cash’ are pure fiction. Lahat guni-guni. Madaling magturo, madaling mag-imbento — pero ang katotohanan, hindi kayang patunayan. Until today, wala pa ring ipinakitang ebidensya — puro sabi-sabi lang na inuulit-ulit,” Romualdez said in a statement.
He also denied any involvement in the Okada/Delaware case, insisting he was neither a subject of investigation nor a party to the business dispute.
“Sa isyung Okada/Delaware, malinaw: hindi ako kasali, hindi ako iniimbestigahan, at hindi ako akusado. Wala akong kinalaman sa kasong iyon, na away ng dalawang negosyo. Binabalik lang ngayon para siraan ako,” he said.
The controversy erupted days after a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Thursday, September 25, where retired marine Orly Guteza — a former security aide of resigned Ako Bicol party-list representative Elizady “Zaldy” Co — testified that he personally delivered bags of cash to Romualdez. He referred to the cash-filled bags as “trash,” a reported codename used to disguise the deliveries.
