The camp of Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez pushed back against claims linking the former Speaker to the flood control controversy, saying accountability should be based on evidence and not on assumptions about the powers of his former office.
Atty. Elaine Atienza, Romualdez’s spokesperson, said the national budget is not controlled by one person or one institution, but passes through a long process involving the Executive branch, the House of Representatives, the Senate, bicameral deliberations, and presidential action.
“Accountability must be based on evidence, not theory or opinion. It must be based on what a person actually did, not what people assume his title allowed him to do,” Atienza said.
Atienza issued the statement after a public pronouncement by the Ombudsman allegedly described Romualdez as the “mastermind” of the flood control scheme because he supposedly had “functional control” over the budget process when he was Speaker.
“We take exception to the recent public pronouncement suggesting that Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez was the mastermind of the flood control scheme because he, as Speaker of the House at the time, supposedly had ‘functional control’ over the budget process. Linawin po natin: there is no such thing as ‘functional control’ over the budget process,” she said.
Atienza said the claim does not reflect how the national budget is prepared, reviewed, approved, implemented, and audited.
She explained that the process begins with Executive agencies submitting budget proposals, which are consolidated by the Executive into the National Expenditure Program (NEP). The NEP is then submitted to Congress for review.
Once transmitted to the House, Atienza said, the proposed budget undergoes committee hearings and plenary deliberations involving hundreds of lawmakers. The Senate also prepares its own version, after which differences are reconciled through the bicameral conference committee before the final measure is sent to the President for approval or line-item veto.
“Hindi po ginagawa ng iisang tao ang national budget. Hindi ito hawak ng iisang opisina lamang, at lalong hindi ito kayang diktahan o kontrolin ng House Speaker,” Atienza said.
She added that the Speaker has no authority to dictate the actions of senators, the President, or other actors involved in the budget process.
Atienza also stressed that lawmakers do not release funds, implement infrastructure projects, inspect completed works, or certify whether projects are real, finished, or defective.
“Hindi rin sila ang nag-i-implement ng proyekto. At mas lalong hindi mambabatas o ang mismong Speaker of the House ang nag-i-inspect at nagce-certify na tapos na ang isang proyektong ghost naman pala,” she said.
For Atienza, the issue must be resolved through proper legal proceedings rather than public narratives that may get ahead of the facts.
“We therefore call for sobriety, fairness, and fidelity to the rules. Sweeping public pronouncements that point to Rep. Romualdez as the grand architect of a collegial and multi-faceted process involving the Executive, the House and the Senate do not help the search for truth,” she said.
Atienza said Romualdez remains prepared to answer allegations through the proper legal process.