Statement of Malacañang on Sen. Chiz Escudero’s Speech amid Flood Control Corruption Issue
Malacañang reacted to the Senate speech of Senator Chiz Escudero against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez over the flood control issue.
Some senators are accused of allegedly receiving kickback from the flood control projects funded by the government. One of them is Sen. Chiz Escudero who was ousted from his position and replaced with Sen. Tito Sotto amid the flood control mess.
Former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed that Escudero allegedly received a P160 million kickback from a flood control project. Aside from Escudero, senators Jinggoy Estrada and Joel Villanueva are also faced with flood control corruption accusations by dismissed DPWH engineer Brice Hernandez.
Chiz Escudero denied the flood control corruption accusation of Bernardo against him. The Senator who is now part of the Senate Minority bloc recently spoke before the Senate and slammed former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
Presidential cousin and Leyte Cong. Martin Romualdez resigned from being the House Speaker after the Discayas tagged him in the issue. During the latest Senate flood probe, a former marine who claimed to be a former staff of former Ako Bicol Partylist Representative Zaldy Co, claimed that he allegedly delivered suitcases filled with millions of money to Co and Romualdez.
During his Senate speech, Sen. Chiz Escudero accused Cong. Martin Romualdez of allegedly mastermind the flood control accusations against him and the other senators. According to him, the former House Speaker is allegedly behind the supposed “script and zarzuela” of the recent happenings. He stressed that he is not afraid of Romualdez whose name allegedly remains to be the name that should not be mentioned.
Escudero asked why the Department of Justice, the Anti-Money Laundering Council, and the National Bureau of Investigation did not include Romualdez in their probe. His Senate speech included audio chants as well as video clips that pinned down the former House Speaker.
Recently, Malacañang was asked about its side on the Senate speech of Sen. Chiz Escudero wherein he spoke against presidential cousin and Leyte Cong. Martin Romualdez. Based on a post of News5 on social media, Palace press officer undersecretary Claire Castro stressed that not everyone may have the same view with Escudero’s as to the happenings now.
The Malacañang official stressed that everyone faced with accusation now amid the flood control mess should be presumed innocent until they are proven guilty. She stressed that the probe should follow where the evidence leads.
“Kung ‘yan po ang kanyang napapansin at nakikita, malamang hindi naman po ‘yan ang napapansin ng iba. Sa ngayon, lahat po ng naituturo at nababanggit na pangalan, dapat nating ituring na inosente. They should be presumed innocent until proven guilty. Let us go to where the evidence leads us,” she said.
Based on the post, Malacañang press officer Atty. Claire Castro also said that holding the people who abused the government coffers responsible allegedly cannot be done through pointing fingers. She stressed that there must be sufficient evidenc.
“Hindi po nadadaan sa magandang talumpati, hindi nadaraan sa pagtuturo ang pagpapanagot sa mga nasabing umabuso ng pondo. Kundi sa pamamagitan ng sapat na ebidensya,” the Malacañang press official said.
Amid the accusations of flood control corruption against him, the Ako Bicol Partylist expressed their support on Zaldy Co.