Senate Blue Ribbon invites Romualdez and 33 others to June 4 flood control hearing

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee under chair Sen. Pia Cayetano released on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, the list of invitees for the resumption of the chamber's flood control inquiry on Thursday, June 4, 2026. The list includes former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez and counsel Levito Baligod among thirty-four named individuals. Romualdez is named in the Office of the Ombudsman umbrella complaint alleging approximately P56 billion in kickbacks across the flood control infrastructure scheme, with the preliminary investigation pending. The Sandiganbayan Seventh Division denied his motion to lift the precautionary hold-departure order on the morning of June 3, 2026; the invitation to the Senate hearing followed in the afternoon. The June 4 hearing sits alongside, but is separate from, the dedicated Senate Blue Ribbon Subcommittee on flood control under Sen. Rodante Marcoleta, whose first hearing is also scheduled for June 4, 2026 at 8:30 AM. The parent committee under Cayetano retains the broader docket; the subcommittee carries the technical evidentiary track.