The Office of the Ombudsman has placed flood control infrastructure in Tacloban City under intense scrutiny following concerns over heavy government spending in the Eastern Visayas region.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced the initiative during his visit to the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas in Cebu City, noting Tacloban’s ties to former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez.
“We’re looking at Tacloban, specifically because the (former House) Speaker (Martin Romualdez) came from Tacloban and was able to pour in a lot of money to Tacloban,” he said.
Remulla previously linked the former House Speaker to the recantations of four members of the “maleta boys.”
In February, 18 self-confessed security aides to former Ako Bicol Party-list Representative Zaldy Co accused the former speaker of accepting suitcases filled with cash linked to corrupt flood control deals.
Beyond Tacloban, the Ombudsman expanded its regional probe to cover projects in Bohol, Negros Oriental, and Cebu, where an estimated ₱60 billion was allocated for flood mitigation.
Remulla noted that a single contractor and the province’s 7th District received 25% of Cebu’s flood control budget.
The nationwide review targets regional public works officials, district engineers, contractors, and rigged procurement processes.
“We’re also looking at the no bidding phenomenon, ‘yung rigged bidding, tinitingnan din natin ‘yan. We’re looking at that also so that we can clean up (the) house in the soonest possible time,” he added.
To manage the heightened investigation workload across the region, Remulla committed to expanding the staffing capacity of his office’s Visayas branch.
“That’s why we committed to hire more lawyers here. And we will get 20 more lawyers to serve the Ombudsman Visayas office,” he said.