Camp of Martin Romualdez Speaks on Accusation vs. House Speaker
House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s camp said he is not filing charges against his accusers for now and the allegation remains a “hearsay”.
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have opened investigations on the flood control projects issue in the Philippines which left countless Filipinos disappointed. Both chambers also invited the contractors flagged by President Bongbong Marcos in a previous press conference.
According to Pres. Bongbong Marcos, the Philippines’ spending on flood control projects have reached P545-billion already. The said total costs covered the expenses on the government flood control deals from July 2022 to May 2025. The President said 15 contractors got P100 billion from the said total spending.
Marcos Jr. called the government’s P545-billion spending on flood control deals “enormous”. According to him, here are the 15 contractors which got 18% of the country’s total expenses on flood control projects:
- Legacy Construction Corporation
- Alpha & Omega Gen. Contractor & Development Corp.
- St. Timothy Construction Corporation
- QM Builders
- EGB Construction Corporation
- Topnotch Catalyst Builders Inc.
- Centerways Construction and Development Inc.
- Sunwest, Inc.
- Hi-Tone Construction & Development Corp.
- Triple 8 Construction & Supply, Inc.
- Royal Crown Monarch Construction & Supplies Corp.
- Wawao Builders
- MG Samidan Construction
- L.R. Tiqui Builders, Inc.
- Road Edge Trading & Development Services
Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have invited the above-mentioned contractors into their hearings. During a Senate hearing that focused on controversial contractor couple Pacifico and Sarah Discaya, they brought with them a joint affidavit that contained accusations against several congressmen and officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways.
In the joint affidavit of the Discayas, the controversial contractors claimed that congressmen Arjo Atayde, Roman Romulo, and Marcelino Teodoro allegedly received kickbacks from the flood control projects awarded to them. They also mentioned House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
House Speaker Martin Romualdez reacted to the Discayas’ claim and stressed that he is “self-made”. According to him, he does not need and will not allow himself to be corrupted by the money that does not belong to him. He also stressed that anyone who uses or abuses his name for profits should be held accountable.
Recently, based on a report on GMA News, the chief communications officer of House Speaker Martin Romualdez, Surigao del Norte Representative Ace Barbers, clarified that the Speaker is not filing any charges against his accusers for now. Meanwhile, he stressed respect on the decision of the other government officials whose names were also dragged into the flood control mess.
“I don’t think that [filing charges] is being considered right now, although we respect the other members of the House who said they will file charges against the Discaya couple who linked them to the flood control mess without presenting evidence,” Romualdez’s chief communications office said.
Based on the report, Surigao del Norte Rep. Ace Barbers also stressed that the accusation against House Speaker Martin Romualdez remains a claim. He cited the statement of Mr. Pacifico Discaya during a House flood probe.
“Up to now, the allegations are hearsay. Mr. Discaya himself said he did not have a direct transaction with the Speaker,” Barbers said.
Amid the accusation against Speaker Martin Romualdez, members of the House stressed that the chamber is “solid” and “there is no change in leadership”.