The Sandiganbayan has denied the government’s attempt to forfeit around $5.2 million in Swiss bank accounts linked to the parents of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, effectively clearing the family in the latest forfeiture effort.
The late former Leyte Governor Benjamin Romualdez—uncle of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.—along with his wife Juliette and their heirs, were absolved after the court’s Sixth Division dismissed a motion filed by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
The motion sought to block the release of $5,193,726.37—about ₱311.3 million—held in Union Bank of Switzerland accounts and placed in escrow at the Philippine National Bank (PNB).
In a March 19 resolution, Sixth Division Chair Sarah Jane Fernandez said the court could not overturn earlier rulings by the Sandiganbayan Fourth Division, which had already ordered the funds released in October and November 2025.
“Regardless of whether the Fourth Division correctly ruled on the matter before it, or whether it had jurisdiction to do so, this Court, being co-equal with the Fourth Division, and without the authority to annul its acts, cannot interfere in the said ruling,” Fernandez wrote.
The funds were originally held in UBS Geneva accounts and later placed in escrow following prior forfeiture proceedings. The Fourth Division allowed their release after the government failed to appeal a 2018 dismissal of the case, making the decision final.
The Sixth Division also noted that the OSG’s motion did not directly challenge the earlier rulings but instead attempted to initiate a separate forfeiture case in November 2025, which it deemed improper.
The dismissal was granted based on the principle of non-interference, effectively clearing the Romualdez family from the government’s latest forfeiture attempt.
However, the Sandiganbayan clarified that the government may still elevate the matter to the Supreme Court of the Philippines, which has the authority to decide whether to halt the release of the funds.
“Petitioner Republic is effectively asking this Court to interfere in… the Fourth Division’s resolution… (but) the remedy is… a higher court with the authority to nullify,” it said.