Suspicion of corruption: Cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos in custody

Former Philippine parliament speaker Martin Romualdez was arrested in Manila on Monday on suspicion of corruption. He is accused of pocketing millions in bribes from flood protection projects. According to current knowledge, many projects were not built at all in the country, which is regularly hit by severe typhoons.

Romualdez is a cousin and former confidant of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.; the son of the long-time dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr., who was overthrown in 1986. Romualdez was long considered the current president's potential preferred successor for the next presidential election in 2028. Marcos will then no longer be allowed to run.

A year ago, Romualdez had to resign from his influential position as President of the Lower House due to suspicions of corruption, but remained a member of parliament. He is now scheduled to appear before the Sandiganbayan Anti-Corruption Court along with three other suspects. Romualdez has always denied wrongdoing.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, whose office brought the charges, said at a press conference on Monday that the amount involved was the equivalent of 102 million euros, which had been distributed across various transactions.

Almost 10,000 flood protection projects worth around 7.5 billion euros, which were supposed to be implemented since Marcos took office in mid-2022, are now being reviewed. Numerous projects turned out to be of inferior quality, overpriced or were not realized at all. Marcos himself had complained about massive corruption in flood protection and ordered investigations. The Philippines regularly suffers from floods, which often cause many deaths.

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla, a brother of the ombudsman, accompanied the national police chief in executing the arrest warrant against Romualdez and said the politician was taken to a hospital in Manila on Monday afternoon because of unstable blood pressure and a panic attack.

He would be transferred to prison as soon as doctors deemed it acceptable. Romualdez will not protect his assets, said Interior Minister Remulla. Nobody can evade the law with money. The Philippines ranks 120th out of 181 countries in Transparency International's current corruption perception index.

Romualdez also plays a role in the affair surrounding Vice President Sara Duterte's death threats against Marcos Jr. She said at a press conference in 2024 that she had ordered a hit man to kill Marcos, his wife and then House of Representatives Chairman Romualdez in case she was killed herself. Later, she didn't want her words to be understood as a threat, but rather as an expression of her concern for her own safety.

On Saturday, Duterte posted bail in a Manila court to suspend an arrest warrant against her in connection with the death threats. On the way to the car, Duterte asked journalists to accompany her. "I don't feel safe with all these police officers. They are harassing people at my home and harassing me since 2023," Duterte said. “What does this government actually want to do to me?”

In May, the House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against her over Duterte's threats and alleged financial irregularities, which began in July in the Senate. If Duterte is convicted, she could be barred from public office. This would also mean that her declared presidential candidacy for 2028 would be invalid. She is considered the favorite so far. The first impeachment proceedings against her had already failed in 2025.

Marcos and Duterte are representatives of two powerful political dynasties and ran together in the 2022 election, but then fell out. Sara Duterte is the daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, who was arrested last year on the orders of the International Criminal Court (ICC). He is now awaiting trial in The Hague for crimes against humanity. According to human rights organizations, up to 30,000 people were extrajudicially executed in the so-called “war on drugs” during his term in office (2016-2022). (with ap)