EDITORIAL - Go ahead, talk

Barred from leaving the country, and facing a possible asset freeze along with criminal investigation for alleged plunder, resigned House speaker Martin Romualdez has complained that he is being used as a “scapegoat” for others’ corruption.

In a speech aired on Tuesday night, the Leyte congressman threatened to spill the beans on the “many things” he knows about the current and previous administrations if he is used as a “fall guy.”

Throughout the first half of Ferdinand Marcos Junior’s administration, his cousin was seen to be aspiring to succeed him in 2028, inevitably clashing with the same objective of the President’s UniTeam partner, Vice President Sara Duterte.

This aspiration came crashing down in September last year, as the budget and flood control corruption scandal prompted Romualdez to resign as speaker.

He has denied accusations of involvement in the anomalies, which were hurled against him particularly by former committee on appropriations chairman Zaldy Co as well as an ex-Marine who has gone missing, plus other former soldiers.

Romualdez’s statement last Tuesday was the strongest yet. This came after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced that he had opposed Romualdez’s request for a medical check-up in Singapore.

Romualdez did not mask his bitterness, warning that he had seen “many things” in both the current and previous administrations.

“I will not go quietly, and I will not go alone,” Romualdez told those “who think they can throw me under the bus to save themselves.”

The implied message was that he would disclose wrongdoing. But why should this come only as a warning? A public officer who is committed to accountability and transparency is duty-bound to expose and stop wrongdoing when he sees it.

Such knowledge cannot be kept for use as leverage in case trouble comes knocking, and disclosed merely to save one’s neck.

If Romualdez is aware of anomalies, especially those involving the theft or misuse of billions in public funds, he should disclose them unconditionally, as clearly and swiftly as possible. He can help press criminal charges against those involved, and prevent them from ever holding public office.

Go ahead and talk, congressman; the truth will set you free.