The United States has canceled the diplomatic and tourist visas of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, a former House Speaker and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Manila’s envoy to Washington, Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez, confirmed the cancellation on June 5. “All I can say is it’s confirmed. I don’t have any details,” he said in a message. The ambassador noted that the information reached him only that day. Representative Romualdez faces complaints before the Ombudsman for plunder, graft, money laundering, and direct and indirect bribery. The Ombudsman has described him as the purported mastermind of an alleged scheme involving ghost flood control projects. He remains at the preliminary investigation stage and has not been indicted. The US embassy declined to comment on individual visa cases, citing confidentiality rules. The Department of Foreign Affairs referred inquiries to the embassy. A prior request by Romualdez to lift his precautionary hold departure order was rejected by the Sandiganbayan.