MANILA, Philippines – Members of the Senate minority bloc believe that former House speaker Martin Romualdez cannot absolve himself from his role in the flood control projects scandal.

In a report released to the media on Tuesday, January 20, the senators noted that Romualdez and resigned congressman Zaldy Co have been mentioned in various testimonies through the Senate blue ribbon committee hearings.

“As the former Speaker of the House of Representatives, he cannot simply absolve himself from any accountability in all that is happening — either he was complicit with the crooks or was grossly negligent in his job. In both cases, he remains liable either way,” they wrote.

Rappler earlier reported that a company of Romualdez’s close associate, Golden Pheasant Holdings, purchased a house at 30 Tamarind St. in the upscale subdivision Forbes Park in Makati City for around P1.67 billion. In one of his video testimonials, Co said Romualdez instructed him to deliver P1 billion in cash to this address.

Romualdez’s cousin Senator Imee Marcos also noted that Paras and other associates appear in documents of the former speaker’s properties abroad.

“Palagay ko may recurring names, yung pangalan ng mga abogado na nakasulat na proxy, hindi lang sa 30 Tamarind na ulit-ulit na binabanggit, kung ‘di doon sa foreign properties din. ‘Yung Sotogrande yata. Andoon din ‘yung Atty. Paras at ‘yung iba’t ibang law offices,” Marcos noted.

(I believe there are recurring names in the names of the lawyers that are listed as proxies. They’re not just mentioned repeatedly in 30 Tamarind, but in foreign properties too. In the Sotogrande property, I believe, the names of Atty. Paras and various other law offices were also there.)

Rappler previously reported that a multi-million-euro property in Sotogrande, an exclusive neighborhood in Spain, was purchased by a company linked to Romualdez’s associates, including Paras.

Why a minority report?

Marcoleta – who previously chaired the blue ribbon committee before Senator Ping Lacson took over – initially drafted the report based on the first two hearings on flood control corruption that he oversaw.

“We call it a minority report for lack of a better term because if we base it off our Senate rules, we can’t release this until the committee report is finally complete. But we don’t really know when this will be ready,” Marcoleta explained in Filipino.

“So we called it a minority report in hopes that its content can be used. It contains observations, our findings. It contains the issues we observed and our recommendations.”

But Senate President Tito Sotto described the document as just a piece of paper since the blue ribbon panel has yet to submit its official committee report.

“A minority report is submitted after the committee report of the mother committee has been submitted. Otherwise, it’s a piece of paper or, unless, the report pertains to the two days that was conducted by the previous chairman. Then it is not a minority report. It is simply a report on the said dates,” Sotto said.

Sotto said the document should have been filed with the Legislative Bills and Index Service, but this was submitted instead to his office on December 10. Because of this, his office forwarded the report to the blue ribbon committee.

The report was signed by the following minority bloc senators:

• Senator Imee Marcos
• Senator Rodante Marcoleta
• Senator Ronald “Bato” Dela Rosa
• Senator Jinggoy Estrada
• Senator Bong Go
• Senator Robinhood Padilla

Three senators from the minority bloc did not sign the report: Francis “Chiz” Escudero, Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano, and Joel Villanueva.

Marcoleta said that Escudero did not sign the report since he is not a member of the blue ribbon committee. Cayetano did not sign the report because he was ill when the report was being circulated for signatures, while Villanueva told Marcoleta he wanted to go over the report before signing.

Escudero, Villanueva, and Estrada were among those implicated in the scandal for allegedly receiving kickbacks.

While the minority bloc’s report does acknowledge their colleagues were named in some of the testimonies, they believe that there is not enough evidence to fully establish their involvement in the scheme.

Former public works undersecretary Roberto Bernardo in September claimed he personally delivered P160 million in kickbacks to businessman Maynard Ngu, Escudero’s campaign donor and friend, supposedly on the former Senate president’s behalf.

The minority bloc senators regarded allegations against Escudero as “controvertible” until object evidence and other witnesses can corroborate Bernardo’s testimony.

Ngu denied the allegations during the Senate blue ribbon committee’s hearing on Monday, January 19. Senators did not ask any further questions on his supposed involvement in the scheme and ties to Escudero.

Bernardo and former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) engineer Brice Hernandez had also linked Estrada to the scheme, with Bernardo claiming that Estrada sought around P1 billion in infrastructure projects. Estrada has previously denied the allegations.

“Upon closer examination, the Minority finds that the allegation against Senator Estrada remains unsubstantiated and unclear. The evidence presented thus far fails to establish any direct participation or authorization by the Senator in the alleged transaction,” the report says. – Rappler.com