MANILA, Philippines – Nananatiling nasa Pilipinas si dating House Speaker at Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez.
Ito ang kinumpirma ni Atty. Ade Fajardo, abogado at tagapagsalita ni Romualdez kasunod ng pagpapalabas ng hold departure order ng Sandiganbayan.
“We acknowledge reports that the Sandiganbayan has issued a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez upon request of the Office of the Ombudsman. At the outset, we categorically clarify: Rep. Romualdez is in the Philippines and has not left the country. Any report or insinuation that he has fled is false and irresponsible,” paglilinaw ni Atty. Fajardo.
Nilinaw pa ng abogado na si Romualdez ay sumunod aniya sa tamang proseso kabilang ang pagpapa-alam at paghingi ng travel clearance sa Malaking Kapulungan ng Kongreso at sa Department of Justice sa kaniyang biyahe sa Singapore upang magpagamot.
“Rep. Romualdez followed the proper process. He sought and secured the necessary travel authority, and coordinated in good faith with the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration for a brief, long-overdue four-day medical check-up with his attending physician in Singapore.”
Sa ngayon aniya ay gagawin ng kampo ni Romualdez ang lahat ng legal remedy upang kwestyunin ang kautusan ng Sandiganbayan.
“We will avail of all appropriate legal remedies to question the issuance of this order before the proper forum. This is fully consistent with his conduct from the very beginning—one of cooperation, transparency, and respect for legal processes. Unfortunately, this legitimate act has been twisted to create a prejudicial narrative that he intended to flee,” ani Atty. Fajardo.
Aniya, ang dating speaker ay handang humarap sa anumang kaso na maaaring ihain laban sa kaniya.
“Rep. Romualdez remains committed to facing these allegations squarely.”
Batay sa inilabas na HDO, si Romualdez ay nahaharap sa mga kasong Plunder, Direct Bribery, Indirect Bribery, Money Laundering at paglabag sa paglabag sa Section 3 ng Republic Act 3019. (Meliza Maluntag)
