Marcos’ cousin quits top Congress post in Philippine graft fallout

MANILA – The Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives tendered his resignation on Sept 17 after his name surfaced in

a mounting corruption scandal

, less than two weeks after the country’s Senate president suffered the same fate.

Mr Martin Romualdez, a cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, told lawmakers he was leaving the post with a “clear conscience” so that a newly established investigatory body could do its job without “undue influence”.

Public anger over so-called ghost infrastructure projects has been intensifying since Mr Marcos

put them centre stage

in a July state-of-the-nation address that followed weeks of deadly flooding.

Thousands are expected to turn out in the capital Manila on Sept 21 for a “Trillion Peso March”, named after a Greenpeace estimate of funds allegedly bilked from climate-related projects since 2023.

“The issues surrounding certain infrastructure projects have raised questions that weigh not only upon me but also upon this institution we all serve,” Mr Romualdez said on Sept 17.

“The longer I stay, the heavier that burden grows,” he added, before formally tendering his resignation.

Last week, the owners of a construction firm accused nearly 30 House members and Department of Public Works and Highways officials of taking cash payments.

Mr Romualdez was mentioned at the hearing as someone who approved funding that did not require House oversight.

In a morning interview with local radio, Representative Ronaldo Puno said Mr Romualdez, a close ally, told lawmakers the controversy had been “too much”, and that he planned to “step aside to face these allegations”.

Mr Marcos on Sept 15 announced that former Supreme Court justice Andres Reyes would head

a three-person commission

tasked with looking into the past 10 years of flood control projects.

The Philippines has a long history of scandals involving public funds, in which high-ranking politicians found guilty of corruption have typically escaped serious jail time.

Senator Francis Escudero was replaced as Senate president by Senator Vicente Sotto III early last week amid ongoing investigations by both houses of Congress into the flood control scandal.

Mr Escudero’s name was linked to one of the country’s top flood control project contractors, a revelation he called a “demolition job” aimed at removing him from the Senate’s top post.

The resignation of Mr Romualdez, one of Mr Marcos’ closest allies, is a response to mounting public anger over corruption and an effort to shield his office from the uproar, according to Professor Ederson Tapia, who teaches public administration at the University of the Philippines.

“It is also a strategic act of self-preservation, insulating the presidency from reputational damage,” Prof Tapia said. AFP