Banayo says Romualdez could implicate Marcos in flood control fiasco

By BNC staff President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. could face political fallout if his cousin, Leyte Rep. and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, were to implicate him in the flood control mess by claiming that he acted on presidential orders in the alleged manipulation of the national budget, according to political strategist Lito Banayo. Banayo said that such a scenario could become a serious political problem for Marcos, particularly because Romualdez headed the House of Representatives during his administration and was considered one of the President's closest political allies. 'Let's face the political realities in this country… Whoever becomes his Speaker gets to be Speaker because the President says so or the President agrees. Either he actually picked the guy or he agreed. That always happens,' said Banayo told Bilyonaryo News Channel's 'At the Forefront' on Tuesday. Romualdez was arrested on Monday night for plunder, hours after he, resigned Ako Bicol Rep. Zaldy Co and two others were charged before the Sandiganbayan over allegations that they received more than P7 billion in kickbacks from government projects between 2022 and 2025. Banayo said it would be difficult for the public to believe that Romualdez could have undertaken major moves involving the national budget without Marcos knowing about them. 'If you know that you are a Speaker by the grace of the President, would you do anything na major thing like moving budgetary allocations… to unprogrammed allocations without informing the President?' said Banayo. The political strategist noted that Romualdez had previously said in a video that government spending decisions were made upon instructions from the executive branch, raising the possibility that the former Speaker could name Marcos if he decided to defend himself by pointing to presidential orders. 'I'm speculating here, but Martin Romualdez can always say, 'I was doing all of this upon orders of the President,'' said Banayo. He added that such a claim could fuel public suspicion because of the close relationship between Marcos and Romualdez. Romualdez resigned as House speaker in September last year amid the mounting controversy over the alleged irregularities in flood control projects. He has denied wrongdoing. 'It's very difficult for people to believe that even if you're a Speaker, you're first cousin, you're very close, that you can do things with impunity without informing the president,' said Banayo. He also cited the selection of the House appropriations committee chair as an example of the President's influence over key budget-related positions. But Banayo acknowledged that the political fallout for Marcos would ultimately depend on what evidence that would emerge in the plunder case against Romualdez.