00:14I will not allow myself to be turned into the scapegoat so that others who are actually accountable
00:29can walk away clean. I will not be the fall guy for other people's corruption.
00:34Binasag ni dating Speaker Martin Romualdez ang katahimikan,
00:38kaugnay sa pagkakaugnay ng kanyang pangalan sa kontrobersiya sa budget insertions at flood control projects.
00:45Tanong niya, paano raw naging siya ang mastermind?
00:49How can I be the mastermind? I was the former Speaker of the House of Representatives,
00:54but the House of Representatives is only one part of the branch of government, the legislature.
01:01The national budget is not conceived, executed, implemented, billed out, supervised,
01:07and completed by one congressman or even by Congress alone, and certainly not by the Speaker of the House.
01:14Kung siya raw ang mastermind, dapat ang distrito niya sa Tacloban ang pinaka na kinabag.
01:20Pero wala raw ni isang ghost project sa kanyang distrito.
01:24To prove this point, I'm authorizing my staff to share and release to the public
01:28the list of all the projects in my district that the authorities may deem attributable to me.
01:35Let the public scrutinize and verify for themselves.
01:38Sa gitna ng pagtatanggol sa sarili,
01:40tinukoy niya si na dating Senate President Chief Escudero
01:44at dating House Appropriations Committee Chair Zaldingko
01:47na gumawa ng mga desisyon sa budget.
01:50With respect to how the budget was deliberated in Congress,
01:53let me say this categorically.
01:55I was not a part of the BICAM
01:58and the Small Committee budget deliberations.
02:01Yes, I was updated on the general outcomes of the deliberations,
02:05but I had no visibility with regard to the specific details of the discussions,
02:11including particular amendments or insertions approved during these closed-door deliberations.
02:17Records would show that I did not participate in those meetings
02:21and I was not privy to what exactly transpired during the deliberations.
02:26However, two people were instrumental in making those budget decisions,
02:32Chise Escudero and Zaldingko.
02:35At kung meron man daw may command responsibility sa budget at implementation nito,
02:40ito raw ay ang ehekutibo.
02:42That is why command responsibility is far more logically relevant in the executive branch
02:47where there is actual supervision, operational control, and implementation on the ground
02:53than in the collegial legislative body where constitutional role is deliberation and appropriation.
02:59Sabi pa ni Romualdez, nakahanda siyang depensahan ang sarili.
03:03There are emerging indications that certain sectors are attempting to weaponize individuals,
03:08including Zaldingko, to construct a narrative that serves their own interests.
03:13So when the legal processes is being used against me as a political demolition job,
03:19then I will have no choice but to defend myself.
03:21May mensahe rin si Romualdez sa Office of the Ombudsman.
03:25To the Ombudsman, I say this with full respect.
03:28If your office truly believes in justice, then follow the sworn statements.
03:33Follow the records.
03:35And follow the evidence all the way.
03:37Do not stop where it is politically convenient.
03:40Do not settle for the easiest headline.
03:42Do not confuse public pressure with prosecutorial duty.
03:46What I ask of the Office of the Ombudsman is simple.
03:48Follow the rule of law and due process.
03:52Sinusubukan pa ng GMA News na makuha ang panig ni na Escudero at Ko,
03:57gayon din ang Malacanang at Ombudsman.
03:59Hiniling ng Ombudsman sa Anti-Money Laundering Council o AMLAC na ipafreeze ang kanyang mga ari-arian.
04:06We're waiting for the Romualdez case to start crawling.
04:10And the first case would be about money laundering.
04:14It's related to corruption and money laundering.
04:16Sinusubukan na ma-freeze order para mapangalagaan natin yung mga salapi na dapat pag-aari ng bayan.
04:25Yun po yung ating hinahabol dito.
04:26Pero ayon sa kampo ni Romualdez, wala pa silang natatanggap na opisyal na abiso sa anumang application o freeze order.
04:35Kaya speculative a nila ang pagsasabing may nakaumang ng ganyan.
04:40Nagpaalam naman sa Ombudsman si Romualdez na babiyahe siya pa Singapore para magpa-check up.
04:46Pero tinanggihan nito ng Ombudsman at humiling sa Sandigan Bayan na maglabas ng Precautionary Hold Departure Order laban kay Romualdez.
04:55Hindi namin siya pinaalis. Hindi namin pinayagan na ma-lift yung bulletin niya kasi nga naka-lookout order because we've
05:03been investigating him actively.
05:04Baka hindi na bumalik eh. Para namang sobrang coincidental na nahuli si Saldico sa Europe, wala siya nga aalis.
05:10Pero giit ng kampo ni Romualdez, hindi ipinagbabawal ng lookout bulletin order ang pag-aabroad.
05:17Nire-require lang nito ang pakikipag-ugnayan sa mga otoridad.
05:21Kaya ang araw kumuha ito ng Travel Authority mula sa liderato ng Kamara na aprobado na.
05:28Mula April 20 hanggang May 4, 2026, ang paalam niya para sa long overdue follow-up sa kanyang angioplasty surgery
05:38sa Baytiak na babalik sa Pilipinas.
05:41Tina Panganiban Perez, nagbabalita para sa GMA News.
05:52TPA
05:52TPA
05:52TPA
05:52TPA
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