Senate President Pro Tempore Panfilo “Ping” Lacson said on Wednesday, January 14, that the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee will seek to clarify what he described as “persistent reports” alleging that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez purchased a house and lot in a plush Makati subdivision using the Discaya group as a front.
Speaking at a press conference, Lacson said the committee is looking into information suggesting a possible direct link between Romualdez and the Discayas, who have been associated with allegedly anomalous major government infrastructure contracts.
“We would like to clarify persistent reports that former Speaker Martin Romualdez had purchased a house and lot in a plush subdivision in Makati City using the Dicayas as front in the said sale,” Lacson said.
Lacson stressed that the matter remains unverified and is being raised to establish facts, not to make conclusions, adding that the Senate intends to hear from primary sources to shed light on the issue.
“If verified to be true, this could possibly establish a direct connection between the former Speaker and the Dicayas,” Lacson said, explaining why the allegation warrants closer scrutiny by the committee.
Lacson said the Blue Ribbon Committee may invite the former owner of the Makati property to testify, noting that such testimony could help determine whether the transaction was conducted directly or through intermediaries.
“In this regard, we may invite the former owner of the property to shed light,” Lacson said, stressing that the issue is significant because of the scale of government contracts linked to the Discayas, which he said reached hundreds of billions of pesos over several years.
“So kung merong koneksyon, dapat na maliwanagan natin kung bakit ganun kalakas ang tiwala para ipagkatiwala mo yung pagbili ng isang house and lot sa isang sikat na subdivision sa Makati City,” Lacson said.
The senator, however, clarified that Romualdez cannot be compelled to attend Senate hearings due to parliamentary courtesy between the House of Representatives and the Senate, but said the former Speaker is welcome to participate voluntarily.
“As I said, pagdating sa counterpart namin sa House, merong parliamentary courtesy na umiiral. Pwede lang namin silang imbitahan,” Lacson said.
Lacson emphasized that the inquiry is not meant to accuse but to establish facts, especially amid broader investigations into alleged irregularities in public infrastructure spending.
“At the very least, we want to know if there is a direct connection or link,” he said, stressing that any findings must be based on evidence.
