The Philippine National Police (PNP) is weighing international law enforcement assistance to apprehend a co-accused of Leyte 1st District Representative and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, following confirmation that the individual has slipped out of the country.
During a media brief on Thursday, September 17, PNP spokesperson PCol. Allen Rae Co reaffirmed that law enforcement officers are actively pursuing all suspects facing pending warrants.
“Tuloy tuloy just like everybody who has an issued warrant of arrest against them ay hinahanap natin yan para mahuli, para maaresto,” Co said.
Addressing questions regarding suspects who have departed Philippine jurisdiction, Co highlighted that cross-border mechanisms remain an option.
“Now as to the one who was able [to leave the country], yun ay siguro papasok na po yung international cooperation with other countries regarding fugitives from the law,” he stated.
Co’s remarks followed verification from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) that Joselyn Serenio, Romualdez’s personal assistant and fellow respondent in a high-profile plunder charge, departed the country prior to the issuance of a Hold Departure Order (HDO) against the accused group.
The BI declined to share Serenio’s detailed flight logs or identity details, invoking legal protections under the Data Privacy Act of 2012.
Immigration officials confirmed that Romualdez and another co-accused, Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation president Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, remain inside the Philippines.
Romualdez, who faces charges alongside three co-respondents over an alleged ₱7.4-billion flood control project controversy, recently entered a not guilty plea before the court.