Marcoleta to Romualdez: You can also be mastermind if you tolerated anomalies

Senator Rodante Marcoleta on Monday said that former Speaker and incumbent Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez may still be considered a mastermind of the flood control corruption if he created or tolerated an environment where anomalies could flourish.

In a privilege speech, Marcoleta questioned Romualdez's earlier statement asking how he could be the mastermind in the controversy if the House of Representatives is only part of one branch of government.

“By contesting only the label of being the mastermind, he implicitly concedes that he was part of the very system he enabled, the corruption in flood control projects. He deliberately tried to downplay the role of leadership within that process. The issue then is no longer whether wrongdoing was committed, but the extent of his role in allowing it,” the senator said.

“If you create, or worse, deliberately tolerate—as the Speaker—an environment where anomalies are allowed to fester and flourish, where corruption becomes blatant and normalized, then you are not merely complicit, you can be also a mastermind,” he added.

Marcoleta said nothing moves in the House “without the imprimatur of its leadership.”

“The Speaker of the House is not a ceremonial figure. He is not just a passive participant. He is the central authority who controls the legislative agenda, influences committee outputs, and ultimately determines what reaches the plenary. To say that the Speaker is merely “one voice” among many, is to paint a picture of the House that is devoid of reality,” he said.

Romualdez has denied any role in the corruption related to the 2025 national budget, stressing there is no evidence that proves that he committed plunder, conspiracy to commit plunder, or any similar offense that the Ombudsman may be contemplating against him.

The former House Speaker also argued that if he were indeed the mastermind, his district in Tacloban should have benefited the most. However, he maintained that there is not a single “ghost project” in his district.

“To prove this point, I am authorizing my staff to release to the public the list of all projects in my district that authorities may deem attributable to me. Let the public scrutinize and verify them,” Romualdez said.

Marcoleta said that if Romualdez indeed has knowledge that could implicate others, then he has a duty, not a choice, to disclose it fully and immediately.

“Truth is not a bargaining chip. It is an obligation owed to the Filipino people,” he said. — BM, GMA News