Guteza Affidavit Debunked: Failed Attempt to Link Martin Romualdez to Billion-Peso Infrastructure Scheme
This piece is freely available to read. Become a paid subscriber today and help keep Mencari News financially afloat so that we can continue to pay our writers for their insight and expertise.
During one of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee’s public hearings, a senator belonging to the minority bloc, Rodante Marcoleta, broke a legislative rule to present a surprise witness who could link former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the infrastructure projects scandal.
As a practice, the committee chairman is informed by any member if a surprise witness will be presented in a public hearing. Orly Guteza, a former Philippine Marine enlisted personnel, has just arrived at the public hearing and read a prepared affidavit linking Romualdez to the flood control irregularities. In his testimony, Guteza said he delivered dozens of suitcases full of cash, calling them “trash” to Romualdez’s house in a gated community in Makati. .
Truth matters. Quality journalism costs.
Your subscription to Mencari (Australia) directly funds the investigative reporting our democracy needs. For less than a coffee per week, you enable our journalists to uncover stories that powerful interests would rather keep hidden. There is no corporate influence involved. No compromises. Just honest journalism when we need it most.
He claimed the “trash” was sent by his employer, former Congressman Elizaldy Co, to the former Speaker’s house. Nearly 50 suitcases containing at least 48 million pesos each were delivered in several vans to Romualdez’s address. It was an explosive testimony. It was supposed to be the smoking gun, proving that Romualsez was “the brains” behind the billion-peso scheme to defraud the government. It would also remove the heat from the senators who were linked to the scandal and put the blame on the lower house, led by Romuadez and Co, who chaired the House Committee on Appropriations. A day after the hearing, Guteza was invited to the National Bureau of Investigation to give more details about the affidavit he had read.
He did not show up. Worse, the lawyer who had notarized his affidavit came forward to deny knowledge about the sworn statement. Guteza’s testimony was torn into pieces. His testimony was a dud, but the damage was already done. What makes Guteza’s testimony doubtful is that there was no corroboration. Not one of the people who were with Guteza when the money was delivered affirmed his statements.
In fact, Co’s security personnel denied Guteza’s story. It was a myth, not a fact. The real smoking gun evidence against lawmalers involved in the “ghost” flood control projects came from the government engineers and their drivers from Bulacan who testified they delivered 20 suitcases in seven vans to a hotel in Taguig and to Co’s house in Pasig.
Although these are circumstantial evidence, the money trail was established. A private contractor withdrew in cash nearly 500,000 from the Land Bank branch in Malolos, Bulacan, a fact corroborated by the bank manager, although the cash withdrawal was highly irregular given the strict regulations imposed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). Photes of the cash were showed by Bulacan engineers when the money was divided and about to be delivered to lawmakers who were the “project proponents”. Then, two drivers testified, bringing the money to Co’s house and a penthouse suite of a posh hotel in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
That could be the real smoking gun. However, the money trail ended only with a party-list congressman from Bicol. Senator Marcoleta attempted to build a bridge between Zaldy Co and Martin Romualdez by presenting Guteza. But the bridge collapsed. Marcoleta even coached Guteza during the public hearing. Guteza was nervous during the hearing; he made conflicting statements.
There were many inconsistencies in his story. To cut his losses, he never appeared again in the hearing or at a formal inquiry by a law enforcement agency. The engineers’ tales were more believable, although they may be holding back a few more details. Based on the engineers’ testimonies, three senators were linked to the scandal - former Senate President Francis Escudero, Joel Villanueva, and Jinggoy Estrada. A former senator, Ramon “Bong” Revilla, was also implicated. He lost in the May 2025 midterm elections but held the leadership of the public works committee in the 19th Congress.
A former public works undersecretary, Roberto Bernardo, testified that be brought cash to Revilla’s house in Cavite. He also testfied that he had a conversation with Escudero in an exclusive members’ only club in Taguig about kickbacks. Escudero even thanked him when the cash was delivered through a third party. Villanueva was dragged into the mess when he sent Viber messages to a former Bulacan district engineer.
The engineers testified they converted some ghost flood control projects to come up with Villanueva’s share in the infrastructure projects. Escudero and Co were responsible for inserting 142 billion peso in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget in the passage of the 2025 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
From nearly 800 billion pesos, the DPWH allocation ballooned to over 1.1 trillion pesos, the largest in years, even higher than the education budget, which should have the biggest slice of the budget under the 1987 Constitution. Without Co’s testimony, it would be impossible to pin down Romualdez to a grand scheme to steal from the government. Marcoleta and the small opposition group must try harder next time to produce a credible smoking gun
The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of this publication.
Got a News Tip?
Contact our editor via Proton Mail encrypted, X Direct Message, LinkedIn, or email. You can securely message him on Signal by using his username, Miko Santos.
Sustaining Mencari Requires Your Support
Independent journalism costs money. Help us continue delivering in-depth investigations and unfiltered commentary on the world's real stories. Your financial contribution enables thorough investigative work and thoughtful analysis, all supported by a dedicated community committed to accuracy and transparency.
Subscribe today to unlock our full archive of investigative reporting and fearless analysis. Subscribing to independent media outlets represents more than just information consumption—it embodies a commitment to factual reporting.
Not ready to be paid subscribe, but appreciate the newsletter ? Grab us a beer or snag the exclusive ad spot at the top of next week's newsletter.
