OMBUDSMAN Jesus Crispin Remulla said they have uncovered a “money trail” linking Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero to a web of anomalous flood control projects.
“We have statements of a money trail leading to him, narrations of fact that are there already… but of course, we want to buttress it with other evidence, which we're looking at right now,” Remulla said in a press conference Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
“Ano nga e, pag wala kang makitang AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) trail, then you have to follow a cash trail—and we will find it,” he added.
(If there’s no AMLC paper trail, you follow the cash trail — and we will find it.)
Remulla said as the investigation into the anomalous flood control projects continues, they are placing high importance on the narrations of several witnesses who testified before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
During the September 25 hearing of the panel, retired Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo claimed to have delivered about P160 million to Escudero through Maynard Ngu as obligations for four projects in Valenzuela and Marinduque.
These projects were included in the bicameral version of the 2025 proposed national budget and later appeared in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) with a total cost of P800 million.
He said Ngu is a close friend and campaign contributor of Escudero.
Escudero has categorically denied any wrongdoing, saying that he never had direct contact with Bernardo regarding the alleged transaction and that he plans to sue him for “malicious allegations and innuendos.”
Remulla said the probe is not limited to Escudero, noting that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez is also under investigation for possible “gross inexcusable negligence” over his role in the appointment of former House appropriations committee chairperson and resigned Ako-Bicol party-list representative Elizalde “Zaldy” Co, who is likewise implicated in anomalous flood control contracts.
“When we look at the Zaldy Co cases — the whole pattern — it was him working with some senators who came up with the final version of the budget, and the plan was made out there,” Remulla said.
“As the leader of the House, he (Romualdez) was responsible for the appointment of Zaldy Co. Although he was elected on the plenary floor, everybody knows it is the Speaker’s choice. That’s why we have to hold him accountable. It’s a novel theory — I know we’re crossing the boundary of normal legal theory,” he added.
Remulla said accountability must still be pursued, noting that “even if no criminal act is found, negligence should at least be charged because the government and the people suffered losses."
"Leadership means taking responsibility — the buck stops with you,” Remulla said.
Romualdez similarly dismissed the allegations against him as “political” and “fabricated,” saying that the accusations were a result of coaching.
The Independent Commission on Infrastructure, a fact-finding body created to probe government construction anomalies, earlier recommended the filing of graft, malversation, and falsification charges with the Ombudsman against Co and several others over the P289.5-million anomalous road dike project along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Remulla earlier said they plan to file charges against those involved in the anomalous flood control projects before the Sandiganbayan on November 11. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)