HOUSE Speaker Martin Romualdez and three other legislators have been charged with graft and falsification of legislative documents before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The charges stem from alleged unauthorized insertions amounting to P241 billion in the 2025 national budget.
Alongside Romualdez, the complaint also names House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, former Committee on Appropriations chair Elizaldy Co, and current committee chair Stella Luz Quimbo.
The complaint was filed on Monday, Feb. 10, by Davao del Norte 1st District Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, lawyers James Patrick Romero Bondoc and Ferdinand Topacio, Citizens Crime Watch President Diego Magpantay, and retired General Virgilio Garcia. Additional unnamed individuals were also implicated.
The complainants are seeking criminal charges against the respondents for 12 counts of violating Article 170 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC) on falsification of legislative documents, as well as 12 counts of violating Section 3(e) of Republic Act No. 3019, the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
They argue that the unauthorized insertions in the bicameral conference committee report on the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA) were never reviewed or ratified by Congress.
Article 170 of the RPC penalizes public officials who falsify legislative acts, resolutions, or official proceedings.
The complaint asserts that the P241 billion insertions were unlawfully added to the final budget signed by the President, despite not being included in the bicameral report or presented for approval by both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
While the respondents may argue that the blank entries were merely typographical or printing errors, the complainants stressed that such a massive amount—4,826 times the threshold for plunder—cannot be dismissed as a minor oversight.
“Anyone who claims that a P241 billion insertion is just a typographical, grammatical, or printing error marks themselves a special place in Philippine history as a national source of shame,” they stated.
During an interview after filing the complaint, Topacio dismissed the possibility of a typographical mistake, emphasizing the significant amount involved.
He also suggested that unidentified members of the technical working group likely acted under the orders of the named respondents and should be investigated further.
Topacio denied that the case was politically motivated.
As of now, there has been no official response from the named respondents regarding the allegations.