00:00Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez points fingers at the branch of government led by his cousin President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
00:07for the budget scandal that rocked the Philippines since last year.
00:10Romualdez also denies masterminding the supposed kickback scheme.
00:14If corruption were to occur in a magnitude may known to us over the past months, then it's clear that
00:20the real corruption does not happen at the level of the general legislative approval alone.
00:24It happens at the level of execution of the General Appropriations Act. It happens when projects are implemented.
00:33Romualdez also insists he had no hand in deliberations of the small committee, a small group of lawmakers that handled
00:38budget amendments.
00:40But Romualdez identifies former Senate President Cheez Escudero and his former close ally, fugitive and former Congressman Zaldico, as the
00:47two people who were instrumental in making those budget decisions.
00:51Meantime, the Ombudsman asks the Sandigan Bayan to issue a precautionary whole departure order against Romualdez.
00:57The anti-graft court has yet to grant the request.
01:00Romualdez is scheduled to fly to Singapore for what he calls a long-overdue follow-up to his angioplasty surgery.
01:06But if it were up to Ombudsman Boyeng Remulia, the congressman should be prevented from leaving the country.
01:11There is no legal basis to stop Romualdez from traveling abroad as no court has issued a whole departure order.
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