Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and several other lawmakers invited by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee did not attend Friday’s resumed hearing on alleged flood control anomalies, citing the ongoing investigation of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI).
Romualdez and 13 other incumbent lawmakers — including Eric Yap, Arjo Atayde, Roman Romulo, and Marcy Teodoro — were newly summoned as resource persons for the panel’s seventh hearing. They were previously named by witnesses as alleged recipients of kickbacks from flood control projects, accusations they have all denied.
“According to House Speaker [Bojie] Dy, the [incumbent] members [of the House] will not be appearing before the committee today in order to avoid any possible prejudice to the ongoing investigation and eventual findings of the ICI,” committee chair Sen. Ping Lacson said.
Former lawmaker Zaldy Co, identified as a key figure in the alleged scheme, was also absent. His lawyer informed the panel that Co remains overseas for “medical reasons,” Lacson added.
The Blue Ribbon inquiry was paused last month after Lacson briefly stepped down as chair due to frustrations with colleagues. He was reinstated earlier this week, allowing the investigation to resume.