Romualdez urges Ombudsman to inhibit from his case

FORMER House speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez has filed a motion to the Office of the Ombudsman, asking it to inhibit from the flood control scam case against him. Romualdez said the probe is tainted by a “pattern of prejudgment” that violated due process. In a four-page letter dated April 22, signed by his lawyers Alejandro Navarro, Augusto San Pedro, Ruth Nichole Ureta and Via Monina Valdepenas, Romualdez argued that the public statements by Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla and his officials show that a prosecution for plunder had effectively been decided in advance — despite the absence of a formal complaint or preliminary investigation. “There is a reasonable impression that the Ombudsman has already resolved to prosecute our client,” it read. It added that the alleged bias was evident as early as November 2025, when Remulla announced that his office had been studying the case for weeks and was already discussing possible plunder charges. By April 2026, these statements had escalated into public declarations that a plunder case was being “seriously prepared,” possibly involving conspiracy and multiple actors. Romualdez’s lawyers deemed the statements no longer neutral investigative updates but early disclosures of a prosecution theory. They flagged statements within the Ombudsman’s ranks, including a press briefing by Assistant Ombudsman and Spokesman Jose Dominic Clavano IV that referred to Romualdez as a “master plunderer.” They noted that even as Remulla acknowledged the difficulty of proving plunder under current jurisprudence, he continued to publicly discuss filing such charges — suggesting, they argued, that the charge had been predetermined. Taken together, the lawyers said the statements create the impression that any investigation would be a “mere formality” to justify a pre-set outcome. They warned that even subordinate officials may feel compelled to align with their chief’s public position. Invoking Supreme Court doctrine on the appearance of impartiality, Romualdez asked that the Ombudsman inhibit from the case and that any complaint be handled by a neutral and independent-minded official. “This is not about questioning integrity, but about safeguarding due process and public confidence in the justice system,” the letter said. In an earlier statement, Romualdez’s spokesman, Ade Fajardo, said they would question the precautionary hold departure order issued to him by the Sandiganbayan.

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