Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez delivers his keynote message during the Briefing on Immunities and Privileges on Thursday morning at Diamond Hotel in Manila, organized by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
THE camp of former Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Sunday appealed to the Ombudsman for fairness by giving the Leyte congressman the chance to respond to or comment on any new allegations against him.
The lawmaker’s legal counsel and spokesman, Ade Fajardo, made the appeal in the wake of speculations that former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Manuel Bonoan might be pressured to link Romualdez to the flood control scam.
Upon the Ombudsman’s request, Bonoan was dropped from a P573-million plunder and graft case and freed from detention by the three-member Sandiganbayan fifth division in a controversial decision strongly criticized by a division member who dissented from the ruling.
“We are requesting the Ombudsman to inform us if there is any allegation from Secretary Bonoan against former Speaker Romualdez and to give us ample time to comment on it,” Fajardo said.
“There is also the report that the Ombudsman has 28 new witnesses. We would like to know if there is any statement from them against our client, and we would like as well to have the opportunity to respond,” he said.
“Fair play and due process require that such information and opportunity be accorded to us at this point in the process, the preliminary investigation stage, not if and when the Ombudsman decides to file charges in court,” he stressed.
Fajardo pointed out that any new allegation against Romualdez has not been covered by previous pleadings he submitted to the Ombudsman.
Last Aug. 20 the Leyte congressman filed a supplemental affidavit in which he asked the Ombudsman to stop its preliminary investigation against him, citing the withdrawal of allegations made by five Maleta Boys, including flood control scam start witness Orly Guteza.
His filing also included assertions made by 25 Maleta Boys’ colleagues belying the original accusations made by the Maleta Boys.
In his retraction, Guteza claimed that he was forced to fabricate statements against Romualdez by Sen. Rodante Marcoleta and former Quezon City congressman Mike Defensor, an allegation the two have denied.
“Out of fear and anxiety, everything stated in the affidavit they prepared was something I claimed to have witnessed, even though it was not true; this included the statement that I took part in three deliveries of suitcases to the alleged residence of Speaker Martin Romualdez. I never had any direct contact with Speaker Romualdez, nor did I even see him at that address,” Guteza said in his sworn retraction statement.
Fajardo also reiterated that with the retractions of Guteza, four Maleta Boys and the statements of 25 of their colleagues, there is no more “credible evidence” against Romualdez.
He likewise restated that Bonoan or any of his engineers or underlings in the DPWH has not linked the former Speaker to the flood control scam, or any anomalous flood control project or kickback.
“There has been no accusation from any of them since this controversy erupted more than a year ago. Of course it would surprise us, to say the least, if an allegation surfaces now or in the future,” he said.
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