Ombudsman flood-control probe of Escudero, Romualdez enters preliminary investigation

₱1.4 billion in flood control projects, funded through General Appropriations Act insertions and sited in Valenzuela, Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, and Quezon City, sits at the center of the Ombudsman case against Sen. Francis Escudero. On May 21, 2026, Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the office had advanced its flood control probe of Escudero to preliminary investigation and ordered him to submit a counter-affidavit before the case can proceed. The allegations trace to former DPWH Undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, a state witness, who said the projects carried a 20 percent kickback agreement. Bernardo described delivering ₱160 million, a 20 percent cut on ₱800 million in Valenzuela projects, to businessman Maynard Ngu at a Manila office building, and a second delivery of ₱120 million in 2025, with the funds intended for Escudero. The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division had earlier issued a precautionary hold departure order against Escudero and Ngu, who are being examined for plunder, graft, and indirect bribery. Clavano said a separate money laundering complaint against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez had also reached preliminary investigation. Romualdez is the subject of an Ombudsman plunder complaint alleging roughly ₱56 billion in kickbacks across the flood control scheme, and the Court of Appeals froze a Forbes Park estate and bank accounts tied to him in April 2026. Escudero, ousted as Senate President in September 2025 and now a sitting senator, has called Bernardo's account a fabrication and said the two never dealt with each other directly. The Ombudsman's office, which reported 35 to 45 active flood control cases on May 15, said it would resolve the preliminary investigations before deciding whether to file charges at the Sandiganbayan.