THE Sandiganbayan has issued a precautionary hold departure order against former House Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez.
The anti-graft court’s Seventh Division issued the order dated April 22, 2026, upon the request of the Office of the Ombudsman amid its ongoing investigation of Romualdez over his involvement in anomalous flood control projects.
The Sandiganbayan said “there is probable cause to believe that respondent (Romualdez) will depart from the Philippines to evade arrest and prosecution of the crime/s being charged against him.”
In response, Romualdez's spokesperson and lawyer, Ade Fajardo, said they will exhaust all legal remedies against the issuance of the precautionary hold departure order against the lawmaker, maintaining that Romualdez is committed to facing the allegations against him squarely.
Fajardo assured that Romualdez is still in the Philippines.
“Any report or insinuation that he has fled is false and irresponsible,” Fajardo said.
He said Romualdez coordinated and secured the necessary travel authority from the Department of Justice well ahead of his four-day medical check-up in Singapore.
“This is fully consistent with his conduct from the very beginning—one of cooperation, transparency, and respect for legal processes,” said Fajardo.
“Unfortunately, this legitimate act has been twisted to create a prejudicial narrative that he intended to flee,” he added.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Romualdez was set to leave the country on April 21, but they were able to prevent his departure.
Remulla said the Ombudsman is actively investigating Romualdez amid claims of his involvement in anomalous flood control projects.
He said they are currently waiting for the issuance of a freeze order on Romualdez’s assets by the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC).
The Ombudsman said plunder charges may be filed against Romualdez, who was tagged as a recipient of multi-billion pesos worth of kickbacks from anomalous flood control projects, by May.
Romualdez vehemently denied involvement in the alleged corruption scheme involving flood mitigation projects. (TPM/SunStar Philippines)