Sandiganbayan denies Martin Romualdez’s request to lift travel ban

MANILA, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan 7th Division, in a decision made public on Wednesday, June 3, junked the motion of former House speaker Martin Romualdez to lift his precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) that bars him from traveling abroad.

“Accordingly, [the] instant motion is denied for lack of merit,” said 7th Division chairperson Associate Justice Lorifel Lacap Pahimna in a 12-page resolution. Associate Justices Georgina Hidalgo and Hans Chester Nocom concurred.

The anti-graft court’s 7th Division approved the Office of the Ombudsman’s PHDO request on April 22. Romualdez is facing complaints before the Ombudsman for plunder, graft, money laundering, and direct and indirect bribery.

These complaints are still at the preliminary investigation level, meaning Romualdez has yet to be indicted and charged in court.

According to the Ombudsman, Romualdez was the “purported mastermind” behind the kickback scheme in flood control projects amounting to at around P56 billion. – Rappler.com