FACT CHECK: Romualdez did not release USB containing budget corruption evidence vs Marcos

Claim: Former House speaker Martin Romualdez released a flash drive containing evidence against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. related to corruption in the national budget.

Rating: FALSE

Why we fact-checked this: The video bearing the claim has already received 221,000 views, 13,000 likes, and 742 comments as of writing. It was posted on April 24, days after Romualdez posted his response to allegations linking him to the budget corruption scandal. 

The post’s thumbnail shows a photo of Romualdez holding a flash drive and a folder marked “confidential evidence.” It also features images of other political personalities, including one of Marcos seemingly in a hospital.
Text on the thumbnail reads, “Nabunyag na! VP Sara mag-take over ka na! Heto na ang USB! Sinapubliko ni Tamba! Malala na si BBM?”

(It’s been revealed! VP Sara, take over now! Here’s the USB! Tamba made it public! Is BBM in grave condition?) 

The video’s commentator claims that, according to a reliable source, Romualdez was set to reveal the contents of a USB drive containing evidence against Marcos. The commentator also discussed Romualdez’s recently-posted video statement.

The facts: Contrary to the claim, no reports confirm that Romualdez has released a flash drive containing evidence pinning Marcos in the budget corruption controversy. 

The misleading video references Romualdez’s statement denying claims that he masterminded a corruption scheme in the government. Nowhere in the video did Romualdez say that he would disclose evidence against Marcos, his cousin. (WATCH: Breaking down Romualdez’s response to corruption claims)

Romualdez also did not directly name the President, only mentioning the executive branch as he explained that the national budget process is completed not just by the House speaker alone. 

“The national budget does not depend on just one person. The budget does not begin in the House. It begins in the executive. The agencies and departments prepare their proposals. The executive consolidates them into the national expenditure program, and that program is then submitted to Congress,” he said.

“If corruption were to occur, in a magnitude made known to us over the past months, then it’s clear that real corruption does not happen at the level of general legislative approval alone. It happens at the level of execution of the General Appropriations Act. It happens when projects are implemented,” Romualdez added. 

Malacañang, meanwhile, said it did not interpret Romualdez’s remarks as being directed at the President.

Inconsistent: The video is inconsistent in its claims. While the text on the thumbnail states that Romualdez already disclosed evidence implicating Marcos, the video’s commentator, meanwhile, claims that Romualdez was just about to reveal this supposed evidence based on reports from a “reliable person.” 

“Romualdez, nagbabala ilalabas na ang USB. Woah! Malalaman natin, makikita natin kung sino ang kukurap dahil alam ng lahat, maraming ebidensyang alam itong si [Romualdez],” he said.
(Romualdez warns that the USB will be released. Woah! We will find out, we will see who will blink because everyone knows, there is a lot of evidence that [Romualdez] knows.)

The commentator, however, provides no proof for these statements. 

In his video statement, Romualdez also made no mention of releasing a flash drive containing evidence against Marcos. He did, however, say that he is authorizing the release of the affidavit he submitted to the Independent Commission for Infrastructure as well as the list of projects in his district, to “let the public scrutinize them.” 

Corruption controversy: Romualdez’s video response stemmed from allegations linking him to the flood control corruption and budget insertion scheme, after former lawmaker Zaldy Co tagged Romualdez as the alleged mastermind behind the insertion of P100 billion worth of projects in the 2025 budget. 

While Romualdez denied the accusations, he named Co and former Senate president Chiz Escudero as “the two people [who] were instrumental in making those budget decisions.” (READ: [Vantage Point] Romualdez, flood control, and test of political accountability)
Previous fact checks: Rappler has previously debunked similar claims about Romualdez:

• FACT CHECK: Martin Romualdez did not apologize to Duterte family 
• FACT CHECK: Romualdez not convicted by Supreme Court over budget controversy 
• FACT CHECK: Romualdez not arrested in the US 

– Angelee Kaye Abelinde/Rappler.com 

Angelee Kaye Abelinde is a student journalist based in Naga City, and an alumna of Rappler’s Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship 2024. 

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