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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Senate Blue Ribbon panel invites ex-House Speaker Romualdez to flood control probe

Senate Blue Ribbon panel invites ex-House Speaker Romualdez to flood control probe

Published Jun 3, 2026 08:39 am

At A Glance

  • Former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez has been invited by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to the continuation of the panel's hearing on the flood control scam.
Former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin Romualdez has been invited by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to the continuation of the panel’s hearing on the flood control scam.
Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez (PPAB)
Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez (PPAB)
Sen. Pia Cayetano, the new Blue Ribbon Committee chairperson, said they have formally issued invitations to the hearing that will be held on Thursday, June 4.
“The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has formally issued invitations for the hearing scheduled on Thursday as part of its ongoing inquiry into flood control projects,” Cayetano said in a statement.
“We look forward to the cooperation of all invited resource persons and agencies as the Committee carries out its mandate in aid of legislation and public accountability,” the senator added.
Aside from Romualdez, the committee invited 33 other personalities, including Levito Baligod, the counsel of the 18 persons who claimed to be former personnel of the Philippine Marines.
These 18 alleged ex-Marines claimed to have delivered luggages full of cash, supposedly from kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects, to government officials including Romualdez, former party-list representative Zaldy Co, President Marcos and members of his family.
Romualdez had repeatedly denied the allegations linking him to the flood control scam.
Initially, the committee withdrew the invitation for the group, but later on the panel restored them.
Baligod, in a Facebook post on June 2, showed a screenshot of an email saying the invitation had been withdrawn upon Cayetano’s directive.
A few hours later, the lawyer issued another post confirming that their attendance to the June 4 hearing will push through.
It could be recalled that Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who previously chaired the blue ribbon panel, casted doubts on the allegations of former Marine Orly Guteza, who first raised the allegations during last year’s probe.
Lacson, however, doubted Guteza’s claims, citing the logistical difficulty of transporting P805-billion in cash.
Currently, Baligod and the 18 ex-Marines are facing perjury, cyber libel charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ). They were also charged of unlawful use of means of publication and unlawful utterances.

Related Tags

flood control allegations Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Pia Cayetano Ping Lacson
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