A lawyer, Atty. Petchie Rose Espera, denied involvement in the affidavit of Orly Regala Guteza, former security consultant to Rep. Zaldy Co, which appeared in the Senate on Sept. 25. He insisted that the signature and notary attached to the document were forged.
According to Guteza, he delivered suitcases filled with money to Co and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez as kickbacks from flood control projects. Each suitcase contained ₱48 million and was accompanied by sticky notes stating how much money was involved. He admitted to delivering it three times.
Guteza said he discovered in a group chat that there were three deliveries per week to Romualdez's house starting in December 2024. He resigned from his job in August 2025 and requested to be included in the witness protection program due to threats to his life.
Romualdez vehemently denied the accusation and said that deliveries to his Forbes Park residence in December 2024 were impossible because it was under renovation and unoccupied. He stressed that no kickbacks were received or authorized by him.
Romualdez resigned as House Speaker on Sept. 17 in support of an investigation into flood control projects. Senate and House hearings revealed billions of pesos lost to corruption, prompting the establishment of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure to investigate irregularities over the past 10 years.
