Ombudsman prepares "grand case" vs Romualdez for conspiracy to defraud treasury, plus money laundering

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced on Tuesday, May 26, 2026, that his office was preparing two new cases against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez: one alleging conspiracy to defraud the national treasury through budget insertions, and a second alleging money laundering. Remulla called the bundle a "grand case" and said the conspiracy charge, if filed, would be the first such case ever pursued in the country. The new theories sit on top of the existing Ombudsman flood control plunder complaint against Romualdez, which entered preliminary investigation on May 21 alongside a parallel case against Sen. Francis Escudero. The Sandiganbayan issued a precautionary hold-departure order against Romualdez on April 22, and the Court of Appeals froze a Forbes Park estate and bank accounts tied to his family on April 24. Remulla cited the difficulty of constructing the conspiracy charge, given its novelty, and pointed to one structural obstacle: the Secretariat of the House Committee on Appropriations had refused to receive subpoenas from the Ombudsman during the budget-insertion investigation. "Hindi madaling ilatag yan kaya we are being very careful about every premise we make," he said, describing the evidentiary work as deliberately cautious. Romualdez's standing public posture, set across April and May 2026, is that the flood control allegations against him are a "complete fabrication" and that he has sought Remulla's recusal from the investigation on grounds of prejudgment. He had not issued a fresh statement on the May 26 announcement at publication.