Romualdez denies Duterte claim of taking illegal gambling bribes
MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Martin Romualdez denied another round of bribery allegations thrown against him, this time by Vice President Sara Duterte, who claimed he also accepted bribes from illegal gambling.
“Naririnig ko ang mga akusasyon. Diretsahan kong sasabihin: hindi totoo na ako’y tumatanggap mula sa ilegal na sugal,” he said in a statement on Monday, September 29. (I’ve heard the accusations. I will directly say it’s not true that I accept [bribes] from illegal gambling.)
This came right after Duterte shared her reaction about the testimony of Rep. Elizaldy Co’s former aide, who claimed he delivered suitcases of cash to Romualdez’s property in Makati City.
“Hindi lang sa flood control, Ma’am, pati sa ano, sa illegal gambling, tumatanggap sila… si Martin Romualdez,” she said at a press conference in the Senate, accusing him of having multiple sources of corruption. (Not only in the flood control, Ma’am, but also in illegal gambling, Martin Romualdez accepted.)
The vice president also said she wasn’t surprised. She mentioned how she knew about it a long time ago, as early as the time she took office as vice president.
“Simula pa lang noong pagpasok namin as president and vice president, naririnig na namin ‘yung delivery ng mga pera na nakalagay sa suitcases,” Duterte said. (Since we first started as president and vice president, we’ve already been hearing about the deliveries of cash inside suitcases.)
She added that it was only made public recently because a witness, whose testimony has been questioned due to the notarization’s validity, came forward.
The former House speaker also repeated his denial that suitcases of cash were delivered to him, describing them as “pure fiction” since no evidence could be produced, he said.
The Delaware case again
Duterte then resurfaced her old claim against Romualdez that he was already involved in a bribery case in a court in Delaware, United States.
“Kung maalala ninyo, doon sa State of Delaware case sa Amerika, nabanggit na ‘yung pangalan niya doon at nabanggit na rin ‘yung pangalan niya doon na tumatanggap ng pera na nakalagay sa luggages. So ganoon talaga ‘yung modus nila,” she said. (If you recall, in the State of Delaware case in the US, his name was mentioned there, and it was also mentioned that he was receiving money hidden in luggage. That’s really how their modus works.)
The 2023 Delaware case involves a dispute between Universal Entertainment’s subsidiary, Tiger Resort Asia, and 26 Capital Acquisition Corp. after a failed merger. Universal Entertainment is the parent company of Okada Manila.
Romualdez’s name appeared in 26 Capital’s testimony, which alleged that Universal Entertainment delivered a “heavy luggage” containing an “item” to him to influence the ownership dispute, including email exchanges with Romualdez. This was the alleged bribe.
The Delaware court, however, did not address or rule on the bribery allegations against Romualdez, noting that he did not cooperate with Okada executives’ efforts to involve him in the legal proceedings.
Romualdez has since denied the allegations, saying it’s clear that he was not involved and he was not even investigated. In other words, he said he’s not accused.
“Wala akong kinalaman sa kasong iyon, na away ng dalawang negosyo. Binabalik lang ngayon para siraan ako,” Romualdez said. (I have nothing to do with that case, which is a dispute between two businesses. It’s being brought up now just to tarnish my reputation.)
Romualdez then took a swipe at the impeached vice president, finding it ironic for someone who is accused of misusing public funds to allegedly spread lies.
“When the source itself has lost credibility, why should anyone believe these baseless claims?” he said.
Duterte and Romualdez’s relationship has long gone sour since budget deliberations over the past years have revealed the cracks in the Marcos-Duterte alliance.
Romualdez stepped down as House speaker in mid-September to address allegations of receiving kickbacks from flood control projects, while maintaining the integrity of the chamber as it continues to receive corruption accusations.
On Monday, Romualdez also traded verbal blows with former Senate president Chiz Escudero, an ally of Duterte. Once the most powerful men in Congress, the two have been replaced amid a flood control project scandal and face allegations of receiving kickbacks from anomalous infrastructure projects.
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