00:29Transcription by CastingWords
00:32I will not allow myself to be turned into the scapegoat so that others who are actually accountable can walk
00:39away clean.
00:39I will not be the fall guy for other people's corruption.
00:43Binasag ni dating Speaker Martin Romualdez ang katahimikan,
00:47kaugnay sa pagkakaugnay ng kanyang pangalan sa kontrobersiya sa budget insertions at flood control projects.
00:54Tanong niya, paano raw naging siya ang mastermind?
00:58How can I be the mastermind?
01:00I was the former Speaker of the House of Representatives,
01:03but the House of Representatives is only one part of the branch of government, the legislature.
01:10The national budget is not conceived, executed, implemented, billed out, supervised,
01:16and completed by one congressman or even by Congress alone,
01:20and certainly not by the Speaker of the House.
01:23Kung siya raw ang mastermind, dapat ang distrito niya sa Tacloban ang pinaka na kinabang.
01:30Pero wala raw ni isang ghost project sa kanyang distrito.
01:33To prove this point, I'm authorizing my staff to share and release to the public
01:37the list of all the projects in my district that the authorities may deem attributable to me.
01:43Let the public scrutinize and verify for themselves.
01:46Sa gitna ng pagtatanggol sa sarili, tinukoy niya si na dating Senate President Chief Escudero
01:53at dating House Appropriations Committee Chair Zaldico na gumawa ng mga desisyon sa budget.
01:59With respect to how the budget was deliberated in Congress, let me say this categorically.
02:04I was not a part of the BICAM and the Small Committee budget deliberations.
02:10Yes, I was updated on the general outcomes of the deliberations,
02:14but I had no visibility with regard to the specific details of the discussions,
02:20including particular amendments or insertions approved during these closed-door deliberations.
02:26Records would show that I did not participate in those meetings
02:30and I was not privy to what exactly transpired during the deliberations.
02:35However, two people were instrumental in making those budget decisions,
02:41Chise Escudero and Zaldico.
02:44At kung meron man daw may command responsibility sa budget at implementasyon ito,
02:49ito raw ay ang ejecutibo.
02:51That is why command responsibility is far more logically relevant in the executive branch
02:56where there is actually supervision, operational control, and implementation on the ground,
03:02then in the collegial legislative body where constitutional role is deliberation and appropriation.
03:08Sabi pa ni Romualdez, nakahanda siyang depensahan ang sarili.
03:12There are emerging indications that certain sectors are attempting to weaponize individuals,
03:17including Zaldico, to construct a narrative that serves their own interests.
03:22So when the legal processes is being used against me as a political demolition job,
03:28then I will have no choice but to defend myself.
03:31May mensahe rin si Romualde sa office of the ombudsman.
03:34To the ombudsman, I say this with full respect.
03:37If your office truly believes in justice, then follow the sworn statements,
03:42follow the records, and follow the evidence all the way.
03:46Do not stop where it is politically convenient.
03:48Do not settle for the easiest headline.
03:51Do not confuse public pressure with prosecutorial duty.
03:55What I ask of the office of the ombudsman is simple.
03:58Follow the rule of law and due process.
04:01Sinusubukan pa ng GMA News na makuha ang panig ni na Escudero at Co,
04:06gayon din ang Malacanang at ombudsman.
04:08Hiniling ng ombudsman sa Anti-Money Laundering Council o AMLAC
04:12na ipafreeze ang kanyang mga ari-arian.
04:15We're waiting for the Romualde's case to start crawling.
04:19And the first case would be about money laundering.
04:23It's related to corruption and money laundering.
04:25Sinusubukan na ma-freeze order para mapangalagaan natin yung mga salapi na dapat pag-aari ng bayan.
04:34Yun po yung ating hinahabol dito.
04:36Pero ayon sa kampo ni Romualde's, wala pa silang natatanggap na opisyal na abiso
04:41sa anumang application o freeze order.
04:44Kaya speculative a nila ang pagsasabing may nakaumang ng ganyan.
04:49Nagpaalam naman sa ombudsman si Romualde's na babiyahe siya pa Singapore para magpa-check up.
04:55Pero tinanggihan nito ng ombudsman at humiling sa Sandigan Bayan
04:59na maglabas ng precautionary hold departure order laban kay Romualde's.
05:05Hindi namin siya pinaalis.
05:06Hindi namin pinayagan na ma-lift yung bulletin niya.
05:09Kasi nga, naka-lookout order because we've been investigating him actively.
05:13Baka hindi na bumalik eh.
05:14Para namang sobrang coincidental na nahuli si Saldico sa Europe.
05:18Bila siyang aalis.
05:19Pero giit ng kampo ni Romualde's, hindi ipinagbabawal ng lookout bulletin order ang pag-aabroad.
05:26Nire-require lang nito ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga otoridad.
05:31Kaya nga raw kumuha ito ng travel authority mula sa liderato ng Kamara na aprobado na.
05:37Mula April 20 hanggang May 4, 2026,
05:41ang paalam niya para sa long overdue follow-up sa kanyang angioplasty surgery.
05:47Sa baitiyak nababalik sa Pilipinas.
05:50Ito ang unang balita.
05:52Tina Panganiban Perez para sa GMA News.
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