The past weeks have been full of headline grabbers. The revelations pertaining to former Speaker Martin Romualdez are nothing short of eye-poppers.
If we did not have media in all its forms covering the beats, we would not know about these mind-blowing allegations.
We have to take in what is happening and make sense of all the data.
Several issues back, in the closing days of April, we were stunned by the pronouncement of Ombudsman Crispin Remulla that his office would charge Cong. Martin Romualdez, who is under investigation for multiple crimes, all of which point to his alleged major role in Flood Control-related corruption.
In December 2025, it seemed that many already expected him to be charged and even jailed as part of the “big fish” in the President's administration, who would be arrested and put on trial.
This promise to arrest high government officials and put them on trial fizzled from loud pronouncements to barely a whimper.
Now the tide is turning, the wind is changing course.
A precautionary hold departure order has been issued by a trial court to the former Speaker. How many thought the matter would go this far, to the point of depriving the Congressman of his right to travel?
He is suddenly not untouchable. And it appears he could bring down with him people who are helping him, supposedly in many actions classified as part of a web of corruption, on top of which is his business associate and fraternity brother, Atty. Jose Paulito Paras.
Rappler has been reporting on property acquisitions in Leyte allegedly linked to the business empire of Cong. Romualdez, such as the San Juanico Golf Course in Tacloban City and the Tropics Hotel in Palo. Leyte. There are even news reports linking the Romualdez family to the mining company Macarthur Iron Sand Project Corporation's operations, which involve magnetite black-sand extraction in the town of MacArthur, Leyte.
These are private-sector projects. On the government side, there is a line-up of projects he has closely supported, as shown in DPWH projects: they are potential targets of corruption investigations. These projects include the 8-billion-peso Causeway project, which crosses Cancabato Bay and connects the airport area to the center of Tacloban City (the project has been suspended, reportedly because it is being implemented by Southwest, a Zaldy Co-owned construction company).
All of the above private-sector and government projects have led to the issue the Ombudsman is investigating.
What is the response of Cong. Martin? He goes on air and online, and uses the broad reach of the internet and social media. He chose to directly speak to the public through a videotaped personal explanation. This strategy reminds us of two videotapes: that of President G[oria Macapagal- Arroyo with her “I Am Sorry” videotape and that of Cong. Zaldy Co, where he explained that he is not the Poster Boy of the Flood Control Corruption scandal.
That unprecedented effort by the former Speaker shows that too much is at stake, and the burden of freeing himself from the controversy required nothing short of a personal appearance before cameras, which recorded what he said for posterity.
Cong. Martin Romualdez has never done that. This leads me to believe that these are politically dangerous times that require drastic, never-before-seen strategies.
It is, however, important to note that no press conference was called. It was a one-way affair. No opportunity to ask questions was given to the public.
Just last week, the founder of the popular Peanut Gallery Media Network, Mr. Franco Mabanta, and four of his companions were arrested and charged with robbery through intimidation for allegedly asking money from Cong. Romualdez, in exchange for not publicizing on social media what is purported to be a videotaped program linking Cong. Romualdez to the Flood Control corruption.
The two actions I described are what I consider efforts to defend himself and, at the same time, to take the initiative to put behind bars those who will exploit these issues for personal gain. The former Speaker adopted a fighting stance calculated to discourage similar attempts to tarnish his reputation. (There are several aspects of the case that may be discussed here in another issue.)
This strategy reminds me of a fundamental basketball tactic: the best offense is a good defense.
We can expect this strategy to be often used in the future, particularly in the lead-up to the 2028 Presidential election. In fact, maybe these events could already be the beginning of that lead-up.
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