Mabilog sympathizes with Romualdez but says law must prevail

By Jennifer P. Rendon

ILOILO CITY – Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for Public Safety Jed Patrick Mabilog said he sympathizes with former House Speaker Martin Romualdez over the plunder case that has placed him under arrest, but that the Leyte congressman must answer for it in court.

Mabilog, a former Iloilo City mayor, made the remark Friday when asked to comment on the arrest of Romualdez, whom he once served as special adviser.

“As to our personal relationship, mayuhay man kami. And I also sympathize with him sa iya ginaagyan subong but he has to face the full force of the law,” Mabilog said.

He added that Romualdez should be allowed to undergo the proper legal process.

Mabilog spoke on the sidelines of the Bureau of Fire Protection Region 6 Fire Square Roadshow at the University of San Agustin campus in Jaro, Iloilo City.

The BFP is among the agencies attached to the Department of the Interior and Local Government that fall under his supervision, along with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

Asked about the nature of his previous work with Romualdez, Mabilog described the arrangement as an institutional one.

“Kaagi ko serbisyo sa House of Representatives bilang adviser sang Speaker. Sa opisina ako connected,” he said. (My service in the House of Representatives was as adviser to the Speaker. I was connected to the office.)

Mabilog was appointed special adviser to the Speaker on May 1, 2025, in a memorandum issued by House Secretary General Reginald Velasco.

The designation covered expert advice, strategic guidance, and support on legislative, political, and administrative matters.

He took his oath as DILG undersecretary for public safety on May 13, 2026, before Executive Secretary Ralph Recto and DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla, a little over a year after the House designation.

Romualdez, a cousin of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., remains confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he is considered a person deprived of liberty.

He was brought to the hospital on Sept. 7 over a cardiovascular-related complaint, unstable blood pressure, and an anxiety attack.

Authorities served the warrant for his arrest that same night while he lay in his hospital bed.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division issued the warrant hours after the Office of the Ombudsman charged him with plunder over allegedly receiving at least PHP 7.44 billion in kickbacks, commissions, and other benefits tied to flood control and other government projects between 2022 and 2025.

No bail was recommended, and the anti-graft court issued hold departure orders against Romualdez and his three co-accused: former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy “Zaldy” Co, who remains at large; Romualdez aide Joselyn Tragua Serenio; and businessman Felicito Cristobal Guevarra.

The court has emphasized that its finding of probable cause does not determine guilt and that all four remain presumed innocent.

Custody over Romualdez shifted from the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology on Thursday afternoon.

His transfer to the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas has not been carried out while the Sandiganbayan hears his motion for continued hospital confinement.

Remulla, Mabilog’s superior at the DILG, was present at the hospital when the warrant was served and told reporters that armed police had been posted outside the room.