Philippine president’s cousin charged in flood control projects case
In the Philippines, prosecutors on September 7 filed criminal charges against congressman Martin Romualdez — a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos — in a case involving alleged corruption surrounding fictitious flood control projects. This was reported by Channel NewsAsia.
Charges in the case
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said that the large-scale corruption charges against Romualdez concern alleged bribes, anomalous budget amendments and the allocation of projects worth a total of 7.4 billion Philippine pesos, or US$117.9 million.
According to the report, owners of construction companies, officials and politicians are accused of misappropriating funds allocated for flood control projects. The so-called “ghost” infrastructure projects may have cost Philippine taxpayers billions of dollars, the report estimates.
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Remulla said that the decision in the case is based on evidence and announced his intention to file additional cases against Romualdez and other people linked to the scheme.
Defense position
Romualdez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing. His lawyer, Ade Fajardo, said that the politician will answer the charges in court and expects due process and a fair hearing.
Among the co-defendants in the case are former legislator Elizaldy Co and other individuals accused of conspiring to unlawfully enrich themselves at the expense of public funds. In September last year, Romualdez stepped down as speaker of the House of Representatives after his name appeared in the expanding investigation, but remained a member of Congress.
