MANILA — Senator Rodante Marcoleta said former Speaker and Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez could still be considered a mastermind in the alleged flood control corruption if he created or tolerated conditions where irregularities were allowed to thrive.

In a report, it said that in a privilege speech, Marcoleta responded to Romualdez’s earlier remarks questioning how he could be labeled a mastermind in the controversy, noting that the House of Representatives is only one branch of government.

“By contesting only the label of being the mastermind, he implicitly concedes that he was part of the very system he enabled, the corruption in flood control projects. He deliberately tried to downplay the role of leadership within that process. The issue then is no longer whether wrongdoing was committed, but the extent of his role in allowing it,” the senator said.

“If you create, or worse, deliberately tolerate—as the Speaker—an environment where anomalies are allowed to fester and flourish, where corruption becomes blatant and normalized, then you are not merely complicit, you can be also a mastermind,” he added.

Marcoleta also said that nothing progresses in the House without the approval of its leadership.

“The Speaker of the House is not a ceremonial figure. He is not just a passive participant. He is the central authority who controls the legislative agenda, influences committee outputs, and ultimately determines what reaches the plenary. To say that the Speaker is merely ‘one voice’ among many, is to paint a picture of the House that is devoid of reality,” he said.

Romualdez has denied involvement in alleged corruption tied to the 2025 national budget, saying there is no evidence linking him to plunder, conspiracy to commit plunder, or similar offenses being considered by the Ombudsman.

He also argued that if he were the mastermind, his district in Tacloban would have benefited the most, but maintained that there are no “ghost projects” in his constituency.

“To prove this point, I am authorizing my staff to release to the public the list of all projects in my district that authorities may deem attributable to me. Let the public scrutinize and verify them,” Romualdez said.

Marcoleta, meanwhile, said that if Romualdez has information that could implicate others, he has an obligation to disclose it.

“Truth is not a bargaining chip. It is an obligation owed to the Filipino people,” he said.