FORMER House Speaker Martin Romualdez has requested the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) to postpone his scheduled hearing on October 22, citing a medical procedure he is set to undergo, the commission announced on Saturday.
The ICI said it will issue another advisory to announce the new date for the hearing.
ICI Executive Director Brian Hosaka earlier said the commission decided to hold a second hearing with Romualdez to further review his affidavit and clarify details from his initial appearance.
Romualdez, who represents Leyte’s 1st District, first appeared before the ICI on October 14 after being invited to discuss his “familiarity and personal knowledge” of alleged National Budget insertions and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) flood control projects.
Following the hearing, Hosaka said ICI commissioners questioned Romualdez about allegations of receiving kickbacks from government infrastructure projects. The lawmaker, however, denied the accusations, saying the claims were baseless.
Hosaka noted that the information Romualdez provided during the hearing was “helpful”, particularly in clarifying the roles of House officials in the national budget process.
The allegations stemmed from statements made by Orly Guteza, a security consultant for former Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, who was presented as a surprise witness by Senator Rodante Marcoleta during a Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on September 25.
Guteza claimed he personally delivered bags of cash to the residences of Co and Romualdez, allegedly as part of the kickback scheme related to infrastructure projects.
