MANILA — A Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official testified that former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez was identified as the proponent of ₱27 billion worth of infrastructure projects based on instructions from the late DPWH Undersecretary Catalina Cabral.

Engineer Peter Paul Cortez, chief of the DPWH Programming Division, said his office tagged Romualdez as a proponent after Cabral provided the lawmaker’s name for encoding in the agency’s database.

Cortez made the statement during the bail hearing of Romualdez, who is facing a ₱7.4-billion plunder case alongside former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, his personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Sereño, and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation.

Asked by Sandiganbayan Third Division Chairperson Justice Karl Miranda why he identified Romualdez as a project proponent in his judicial affidavit, Cortez said the designation was based on the agency’s records.

“Per record of our database, they are the ones tagged as proponents. Actually, our term there is inserted,” Cortez said.

He added that his division merely assumed Romualdez was the proponent because his name appeared in the database following Cabral’s instructions.

The ₱27-billion worth of projects were not included in the DPWH’s proposed National Expenditure Program but were introduced through congressional amendments that eventually formed part of the General Appropriations Act.

Cortez said his “best guess” was that the amendments were introduced during the bicameral conference committee deliberations, where the House and Senate versions of the proposed national budget are reconciled.

During cross-examination by Romualdez’s lawyer, Atty. Felix Villa, Cortez admitted that he had never spoken with the lawmaker or his staff about the projects.

He also acknowledged that Cabral’s instructions on identifying project proponents were not documented and that the DPWH database contained no information on commissions.

Cabral died in December 2025 after an apparent fall into a ravine in Benguet.

Romualdez has repeatedly denied involvement in the alleged kickback scheme involving flood control projects.

Tiangco to testify Tuesday

Meanwhile, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco is scheduled to testify Tuesday in the plunder bail hearing before the Sandiganbayan Third Division.

The prosecution confirmed his appearance after Miranda asked about the next witness to take the stand.

Tiangco previously said that Romualdez “should answer” for “everything that went wrong” in the 2025 national budget.

The Navotas lawmaker also recalled a Nov. 24, 2024 meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Romualdez that lasted about an hour and a half. He claimed that Marcos confronted the former House speaker over alleged massive corruption in Congress.

Special prosecutors told the court they intend to present around 100 witnesses during Romualdez’s bail hearing and trial.

So far, the prosecution has presented 24 witnesses. Miranda asked both parties whether they could agree to dispense with the testimonies of some of the remaining witnesses.