Overview
- Prosecutors filed a plunder case against Rep. Martin Romualdez and sought his arrest after alleging roughly 7.4 billion pesos was taken through commissions, kickbacks and sham project allocations.
- The anti-graft court issued an arrest order and Romualdez was taken into custody while receiving treatment at a Manila hospital for a reported cardiovascular event and anxiety attack.
- Plunder is treated as a non-bailable crime in the Philippines and can carry life imprisonment, raising the legal stakes as prosecutors expand the probe.
- Investigators say nearly 10,000 flood-control projects since 2022 were overpriced, substandard or not built, and the scandal has already led to resignations, detentions and an independent probe set up by the president.
- Romualdez denies wrongdoing and says he will seek due process, while officials warn more charges, asset tracing and prosecutions of lawmakers, public works officials and contractors are expected next.