Jamaine Punzalan

Ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co's alleged former bodyguard and driver Orly Guteza answers questions during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on September 25, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

SENATE PROBE- FLOOD CONTROL ANOMALIES

Kaxandra Salonga

Vivienne Gulla

ABS-CBN News

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/178719242834420250925-senate-flood-control-probe-orly-guteza-JC3320.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Ex-lawmaker Zaldy Co&#x27;s alleged former bodyguard and driver Orly Guteza answers questions during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the alleged anomalous flood control projects at the Senate plenary hall in Pasay City on September 25, 2025. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News </span></span></span></div><p>MANILA — The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Thursday the reported recantation of witnesses as a “pressure tactic” after Orly Guteza withdrew his testimony about alleged cash deliveries to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.</p><p>The graft-busting body said it has 28 witnesses to provide direct and material knowledge of transactions being investigated in the cases involving Romualdez.</p><p>“Hindi bago ang recantation sa mga high-profile case. Classic pressure tactic ito,” the Ombudsman said in a statement on Thursday.</p><p>The Ombudsman said their probe would continue despite the reported recantation.</p><p>“Hindi hihinto ang paghahanap sa katotohanan kahit ayaw pang magsalita ninuman,” it said.</p><p>“Hindi umiikot ang buong imbestigasyon sa iisa o kahit sa iilang witnesses,” it added.</p><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-2" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:441px;height:668px;display:block;flex-grow:1" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-2&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=2090256670794580277&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2026-08-19T09%3A18%3A57.592563%3Ad8270c4a-49b0-434c-9d58-803b78d9f3cc%26action%3Dcorrect&amp;sessionId=f90d7e803ec1e51cb361b177a0acce9625e578db&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=6a3ad42b224df%3A1778106238597&amp;width=550px" data-tweet-id="2090256670794580277"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><p>The Ombudsman said the 28 witnesses are already undergoing legal processes and are prepared to provide information on the transactions under investigation.</p><p>It added that the witnesses include people who are still active in service. </p><p>The agency said that anyone who attempts to obstruct or interfere with its proceedings could face legal consequences.</p><p>“Sinuman ang mangahas humadlang, mangbara o manggulo sa proceedings ng Ombudsman ay haharap sa buong bigat ng batas,” the graft-busting body said.</p><p>“Sa lahat ng nabigyan na o mabibigyan pa ng legal process, hindi choice ang pakikipagtulungan. Obligasyon ‘yan sa batas,” it added. </p><p>Four ex-bodyguards of fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co also previously recanted their testimonies pertaining to alleged cash deliveries to Romualdez and several other lawmakers.</p><p>The Ombudsman said the four witnesses have yet to submit their alleged recantations to the agency, but the documents were attached to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s counter-affidavit.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>ROMUALDEZ SUPPLEMENTAL COUNTER-AFFIDAVIT</strong></div><div><strong> </strong></div><p>Romualdez will file on Thursday a supplemental counter-affidavit before the Office of the Ombudsman, his spokesperson Ade Fajardo said. </p><p>He said they would also submit Guteza’s “openly-sourced” affidavit, and the sworn statements of 25 other former drivers and security aides of former House Committee on Appropriations Chairperson Zaldy Co. </p><p>Fajardo said the 25 ex-drivers and security aides of Co contradicted the claims of the so-called “Maleta Boys” against Romualdez, and “many” of them said they were offered money to sign an affidavit prepared for them. </p><p>“Some of them were named as drivers, companions, pero sila mismo dine-deny nila. So ano na ‘yung credibility ng isang statement halimbawa ng remaining marines na, “kasama namin si ganitong driver, x and y, sa ganitong delivery”. When x and y are actually saying na hindi nangyari ‘yun,” Fajardo said.</p><p>“Ayon sa kanila, walang naganap na anumang delivery ng pera sa sinumang pulitiko o opisyal ng gobyerno, kabilang na si Rep. Romualdez.  Hinikayat lamang silang sumali sa isang grupo ng mga testigo kapalit ng pera, at may mga affidavit nang inihanda para sa kanila,” he added.</p><p>“When you examined the affidavits, mayroon silang mga binabanggit na pangalan. Sabi rin nila na sila’y inalok din ng financial reward for joining the original ‘brave’ Club Filipino ex-soldiers,” Fajardo noted.</p><p>Asked who offered money to some of Co’s ex-drivers and security aides, Fajardo replied “the lawyer is prominently mentioned in some of these affidavits”. Asked whether it was Atty. Baligod, Fajardo replied in the affirmative.</p><p>He said their camp was given copies of the affidavits of Co’s former drivers and security aides, which were also previously filed before the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Office of the Ombudsman.</p><p>Fajardo, meanwhile, said they sourced Guteza’s affidavit from a social media post, and compared its veracity with a media report.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>PRESSURE TACTIC? </strong></div><div><br/></div><p>Romualdez’s camp “vehemently” denied insinuations that they were involved in the recantation of Guteza and four of the 18 maleta boys.</p><p>“Hindi po natin gawain ‘yan, makipag-usap para lang makakuha or mag-imbento, mag-manufacture. At sana po, hindi naman maging automatic ‘yung reaction, dahil lang may recantation, ay mayroon na kaagad consideration. Parang madali tanggapin ang original statement, pero ‘yung recantation ay hindi madaling tanggapin. Bakit kaya? Ito ay ongoing investigation. Everything is fluid. And I think the Ombudsman, whoever is investigating,</p><p>including the public, should maintain an open mind,” Fajardo said.</p><p>He said they “cannot comment” on 28 other witnesses that the Ombudsman said were ready to testify.  </p><p>“We cannot comment. We don’t know who these people are. We have to cross the bridge when we get there and we see the testimony,” Fajardo said. </p><p>Romualdez’s camp asserted that the allegation linking the former House Speaker to the flood control controversy is “baseless”, and expressed confidence that a “fair and impartial investigation” will see that.</p><p>“In all of this, one thing is common: may mga taong nag-udyok at namilit sa mga testigong ito para idawit si Rep. Romualdez sa kaso. Sa dami ng magkakasalungat na kwento, napaka-klaro na walang ebidensya laban kay Rep. Romualdez. Matagal na namin itong sinasabi—walang kinalaman si Rep. Romualdez sa mga paratang sa kanya. We remain confident that in a fair investigating body, mapapatunayan naming walang basehan ang mga akusasyon laban kay Rep. Romualdez,” Fajardo said.</p><p>“It&#x27;s a non-case… It should be dismissed kasi wala nang ebidensya maliban sa kwento, at ang kwento ay iba-iba. Ang kuwento ay nababaliktad,” he added.</p><p>Asked whether they were considering to bring the matter before the Supreme Court over possible “grave abuse of discretion”, Fajardo said their legal team has already “undertaken steps”.</p><p>“We filed a motion to inhibit the Ombudsman from this investigation. We wanted a fair, impartial investigation. And by requiring the former Speaker to actually file his counter-affidavit without acting on the motion for inhibition, I think ‘yun po ay pwede nang sabihin na grave abuse of discretion. Our legal team has already undertaken steps to address this grave abuse of discretion,” he said.</p><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5qxpTauzkQk?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br style="caret-color:rgb(0, 0, 0);color:rgb(0, 0, 0)"/></div>

<p>The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Thursday the recantation of witnesses as a “pressure tactic” after Orly Guteza reportedly recanted his testimony on his alleged cash deliveries to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.</p>

The Office of the Ombudsman dismissed Thursday the recantation of witnesses as a “pressure tactic” after Orly Guteza reportedly recanted his testimony on his alleged cash deliveries to former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.

Ombudsman says 28 witnesses to testify in Romualdez probe despite Guteza’s reported recantation

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Ombudsman says 28 witnesses to testify in Romualdez probe despite Guteza’s reported recantation

Kaxandra Salonga,

Vivienne Gulla,

ABS-CBN News

Published August 20, 2026 10:24 AM PHT

|

Updated August 20, 2026 02:51 PM PHT

Read More:

Guteza

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Zaldy Co

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