Romualdez wants Remulla off his case, says Ombudsman judging him guilty

MANILA, Philippines — Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez has accused Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla of prejudging the flood control investigation against him and is asking the anti-graft office to hand the case to an "impartial" body instead.

The Leyte representative's lawyers from Villaraza & Angangco, in a letter to Remulla dated April 22, cited the Ombudsman's public statements about the case and said the remarks amount to a "pattern of prejudgment" that makes any probe a foregone conclusion.

"Such statements are unequivocal: the Honorable Office has already determined that our client is guilty of plunder even before any case has been filed and while it is still performing investigatory duties," the letter read.

Romualdez's request for the Ombudsman to inhibit from investigating him is the latest salvo in a tense back-and-forth between the lawmaker and the anti-graft office. This has included Remulla blocking his recent attempt to travel abroad for a medical checkup and asking the Anti-Money Laundering Council to freeze his assets, all within the span of a week.

The Ombudsman's recent public statements "unmistakably demonstrate prejudgment and, in the minds of reasonable observers, render Rep. Romualdez's participation in the flood-control anomalies a foregone conclusion," Romualdez's lawyers wrote.

The former House speaker's camp said Remulla had already presumed he was involved in alleged anomalous insertions that ballooned the government budget.

Claims of prejudgment

The letter cited an April 6 press conference where Remulla said his office was "seriously preparing" a plunder case against Romualdez and former Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero over alleged irregularities in the budgetary process for flood control projects.

Remulla had said the case could be filed within May, that Romualdez "did not act alone," and that it would proceed "as conspiracy" with several government officials potentially involved, including from the Department of Budget and Management.

The letter also cited the Ombudsman's spokesperson describing Romualdez as a "master plunderer" at an April 16 press conference.

Travel issue

More recently, Remulla said he was "waiting for the Martin Romualdez cases to start rolling" and that the first charge to be filed would be money laundering, the letter said.

"Worse, the Honorable Ombudsman openly admitted to interfering with Rep. Romualdez's request to travel abroad for medical purposes, stating that he 'did not act favorably' on such request," Romualdez's lawyers wrote, adding that the request was not addressed to Remulla.

The Ombudsman is "no longer the Secretary of the Department of Justice, and it is beyond the ambit of his authority as Ombudsman to restrain any person's right to travel," the letter read.

"The Honorable Ombudsman even said, 'baka hindi na bumalik,' insinuating, without basis, that Rep. Romualdez is a flight risk," it added.

Taken together, the lawyers argued, the statements make it "practically impossible" for anyone within the Ombudsman's office to reach a conclusion that contradicts what has already been said publicly.

Any investigation, they warned, "would be a sham and violative of due process."

Romualdez asked that the matter be referred instead to "an independent and impartial body or officer" free from bias.