Tuazon says Romualdez case should be left to the courts

Posted on September 17, 2026 at 11:01 am

Pasay City, Philippines — Amid the plunder case filed against former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez, Eastern Visayas Representative Anna Veloso Tuazon of Leyte’s Third District said she would rather pray and let the legal process run its course than make conclusions based on conflicting accounts.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a ₱7.4-billion plunder case against Romualdez and three others on September 7 over alleged kickbacks linked to flood control, infrastructure, and other government projects from 2022 to 2025. The case was filed before the Sandiganbayan, which later issued arrest warrants for Romualdez and his co-accused.

“I pray, I pray because… we hear varying accounts,” Tuazon told reporters Tuesday, September 15, while attending the Net Zero Carbon Alliance Conference at the Philippine Trade Training Center in Pasay City, where she was one of the guest speakers.

Tuazon also spoke favorably about Romualdez, saying she has known him to be supportive of lawmakers from Eastern Visayas.

“I’ve known him to be very kind… and always on the lookout for Eastern Visayas legislators,” she said.

She said the case should be left to the courts, especially with different claims being made about what happened.

“As lawyers and public officials,” Tuazon said, “we all understand what it means to be law-abiding citizens as well.”

“We’re lawyers and we all… understand what it means to be law-abiding citizens as well,” she said.

Despite the case, Tuazon said lawmakers should continue working and attending to the needs of their constituents.

“Regardless of what’s been said, we’re still doing the work, there’s so much work,” she said.

Tuazon said lawmakers also have a role in rebuilding public trust in Congress by staying focused on their responsibilities.

“I’m just one of many who are trying to make an attempt and restore faith in the legislative system,” she said.

“I really believe there’s nothing else we can do except to do the work that we have been asked by our constituents.”

For Tuazon, the controversy should not keep lawmakers from doing their jobs. She said legislators must continue serving their constituents while the case against Romualdez goes through the legal process.

Photo by: Jazmin Bonifacio | The Vanguard