The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The Supreme Court (SC) has dismissed former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez’s petition seeking to halt the Office of the Ombudsman’s preliminary investigation against him, ruling that the legal challenge had become moot following the filing of a plunder case before the Sandiganbayan.
In its November 4 resolution, the High Court rejected Romualdez’s petition for certiorari questioning the Ombudsman’s investigation, including the application for a preliminary hold departure order and freeze order against him and the alleged use of inadmissible evidence.
The tribunal also denied his request for a temporary restraining order and a writ of preliminary injunction that would have prevented the anti-graft agency from proceeding with its investigation.
The SC explained that there was no longer a need to resolve the petition because a formal plunder charge had already been filed against Romualdez before the Sandiganbayan, where he had been arraigned and entered a not guilty plea.
It also found no exceptional circumstances that would warrant ruling on the merits of the petition despite its having become moot.
Romualdez, who is currently detained at the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas, faces a plunder case linked to alleged irregularities in government flood control projects.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) has launched an investigation into allegations that Romualdez was secretly taken out of the detention facility on several occasions.
The allegations surfaced in a social media post by columnist and former broadcaster Ramon Tulfo, who claimed that jail personnel arranged power interruptions to facilitate the former House leader’s alleged movements outside the facility.
BJMP Chief Jail Director Efren Nemeño ordered an immediate investigation on November 3.
Initial CCTV verification by the agency’s national headquarters showed no recorded power or surveillance interruptions at the facility and no documented movement of Romualdez outside the jail during the period examined.
The BJMP said its investigation remains ongoing and stressed that all persons deprived of liberty are subject to the same custodial rules, with any movement outside detention requiring proper court authorization.
The agency also invited the public to provide information that could help establish the facts surrounding the allegations, reiterating its commitment to transparency and equal treatment of detainees.