GOING OVER THE reports of Bilyonaryo on the massive wealth acquired by former Speaker Martin Romualdez through both his legit business holdings and the siphoned off from his numerous public positions, I could not help but feel ambivalent about his (and his family’s ) mind boggling elite properties (cash, stocks and more) here and abroad.
He had to create dummy businesses and shell companies and channel funds to dummies like his mayordoma, who now faces a P56 billion case before the Ombudsman.
If most of the wealth was acquired during his term as speaker (through kickbacks, budget insertions and SOPs in state-budgeted projects) and let’s not forget the jetsetting partylist Rep. Zaldy Co (who has comfortably settled in a mansion in Europe) then I am inclined to believe now that indeed the Philippines is a wealthy country (pretending to be poor) but its wealth had been stolen by politicians in cahoots with their chosen contractors. Indeed, if the Ombudsman can file an air-tight case against his kind, then I hope the courts will be able to sequester all assets and freeze all the money in favor of the Filipino people.
A week ago, July 25, Bilyonaryo reported on the scandal-tained #14 Narra Mansion of Romualdez in posh South Forbes Park that was rented by Pharmally-linked Rose Nono Lin– an undercapitalized newbie firm that was awarded by the Duterte administration billions of pesos worth of medical supplies contract while the country was deep into the pandemic.
The mansion was publicly identified in 2022 as the rented residence of Rose Nono Lin, after two security guards were killed inside the property. The address sits directly across the home of Michael Yang, former economic adviser of Duterte who has been linked to the Pharmally controversy worth over ₱8 billion of COVID-19 medical supplies.
This same address has resurfaced in the Ombudsman’s 104-page supplemental complaint, which alleges that the Forbes Park mansion was acquired through Brightnews Corp., a dummy corporation controlled by lawyers Jose Raulito Paras and Edgar Dennis Padernal for the beneficial ownership of Romualdez.
“Brightnews was used as the corporate vehicle through which Romualdez and Paras invested in, converted and concealed proceeds of unlawful activities into high-value real properties, thereby disguising the source of the funds and the beneficial ownership of the assets,” the complaint states.
According to documents, Brightnews, incorporated in 2014 as a real estate company with ₱100 million in authorized capital, is controlled by Paras, a fraternity brother of Romualdez, and Padernal, a former director of Benguet Corp. and Bright Kindle Resources, companies associated with the Romualdez family. The remaining shareholders are employees or associates of APP Law (later renamed Padernal & Paras) who also appear in Clearspring, Golden Pheasant and other companies identified as Romualdez dummy companies.
HALF PRICE ON PAPER
According to the complaint, Brightnews bought the property from Chariene R. Escaler on January 26, 2023 under a Purchase and Sale Agreement worth ₱1.6 billion. Escaler is the current president of the Manila Polo Club and the wife of former Goldman Sachs executive Johnny Escaler.
Prosecutors said the acquisition was funded through two ₱800-million manager’s checks issued by Philippine Veterans Bank, both payable to Escaler on the same day
Investigators said the transaction was recorded differently in official documents.
While the Purchase and Sale Agreement reflected a purchase price of ₱1.6 billion, the Deed of Absolute Sale submitted to the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Makati Registry of Deeds stated a consideration of only ₱800 million, the amount carried in Brightnews’s books.
The Ombudsman said the actual agreed purchase price was ₱1.6 billion yet the deed reflected only half that amount despite the existence of two ₱800-million manager’s checks.
Prosecutors cited the discrepancy pointed to “a deliberate effort to conceal the true nature and extent of the transaction.”
BANK CONNECTIONS
The two ₱800-million manager’s checks used to pay for 14 Narra were issued by Philippine Veterans Bank, where the Romualdez family’s holding company, RYM Business Management Corp., later became a major shareholder.
RYM invested about ₱1.8 billion in 2023 to acquire roughly 40 percent of the bank. Philippine Veterans Bank’s amended 2025 General Information Sheet shows RYM holding a 37.4452 percent stake.
The Ombudsman said the mansion was “widely known to be one of the residences of Romualdez” and that “although legal title was placed in the name of Brightnews, Romualdez exercised beneficial ownership and control over the property.”
Prosecutors cited witness accounts that Romualdez’s security personnel and convoy vehicles were regularly stationed there and that meetings with visitors and associates were held at the mansion.
The complaint also described 14 Narra as a temporary “bagsakan” for deliveries intended for Romualdez. During the renovation of his nearby 42 McKinley residence, it said, “deliveries intended for Romualdez, including the so-called ‘maletas,’ were redirected to 14 Narra.”
The Ombudsman alleged that the “maletas” contained part of the kickbacks generated from the ₱56-billion flood-control scheme allegedly involving Romualdez and former Ako Bicol partylist Rep. Zaldy Co.
Taken together, investigators said the circumstances showed that Brightnews merely held the property on paper while its “actual beneficial ownership and control” was Romualdez.
NOT-SO-BROKE
The Ombudsman also questioned how Brightnews could afford such a landmark acquisition.
Despite reporting losses, Brightnews amassed ₱1.377 billion in assets, including the ₱800-million Forbes Park mansion, a Shang Robinsons unit and parking slots acquired for ₱109.02 million, two additional Shang Robinsons units with parking spaces purchased for ₱305.53 million, and three parcels of land in Calatagan, Batangas worth ₱5.36 million.
According to the complaint, Brightnews posted a net loss of ₱704,486 in 2024 and disclosed ₱950.07 million in shareholder advances.
The complaint further states that Brightnews had “no apparent lawful source of funds capable of supporting such acquisitions” and questioned how it accumulated more than ₱1 billion in high-end real estate despite “continuously operating at a loss.”
MONEY TRAIL
Prosecutors then traced several funding sources into Brightnews despite its lack of income.
Aside from ₱950.07 million in shareholder advances, the Ombudsman, citing confidential information, alleged that Brightnews received checks from Tingog partylist Rep. Yedda Romualdez, Martin’s wife, in 2025 and from Trans Middle East (Phils.) Equities Inc. beginning in 2023.
Trans Middle East has long been associated with the Romualdez family whose assets were sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government following the 1986 People Power Revolution.
The confidential source further alleged that D.S. Tantuico & Associates issued 14 checks totaling ₱19.203 million to Brightnews from February 2023 to July 2025.
According to the complaint, D.S. Tantuico lawyer Hermogene Real—who served as corporate secretary for Trans Middle East– the Doña Remedios Trinidad Romualdez Medical Foundation, and Benguet Corp.—were used in Romualdez’s purchase of another Forbes Park property, the #30 Tamarind mansion owned by shipping magnate Doris Magsaysay Ho.
Quite interestingly, on July 26 Bilyonaryo reported that Romualdez’ mayordoma Josie Sereno, who received, handled, transported and delivered cash brought by the security personnel of Zaldy Co at 42 Mckinley Road and later at 14 Narra Avenue.
Witnesses said Sereño regularly received maletas. They described her as the principal contact during the handoffs, often assisted by unidentified household personnel referred to in the complaint as John and Jane Does.
The Ombudsman cited several deliveries allegedly made while Romualdez served as House Speaker from 2022 to 2025.
In September 2022, witnesses said 10 large maletas were transported from Co’s Valle Verde residence to 42 McKinley and received by Sereño and other household staff, with each large maleta containing around ₱50 million to ₱70 million, the shipment could have contained ₱500 million to ₱700 million.
Another 28 maletas were allegedly delivered to 42 McKinley in December 2022, again received by Sereño. The complaint did not specify the sizes or estimated money in the maletas.
In November 2023, security personnel allegedly brought about 22 maletas from Horizon Homes to 42 McKinley and a month later, another delivery of 50 maletas and several boxes. Witnesses said they later heard Co’s aides discussing the amount delivered at ₱1.1 billion.
By mid-2024, the deliveries had shifted to 14 Narra Avenue while 42 McKinley was undergoing renovations. The complaint alleged that four separate trips brought 17, 20, 28 and 20 maletas to the property, which was bought from the Escaler family through Romualdez’ dummy firm, Brightnews..
Witnesses said Sereño did not just accept the luggage but instructed drivers and security personnel to carry the maletas farther inside the residences, including the foyer and living room.
Prosecutors said the delivery teams dealt directly with her, identifying Sereño as the person who received and oversaw the handoffs at both properties.
“Jocelyn Sereño, together with John Does and Jane Does knowingly received, handled, transported, concealed, and took custody of the luggage and suitcases (maletas) containing substantial amounts of cash constituting the proceeds of the unlawful scheme,” the Ombudsman said.
The supplemental complaint also accused Sereño of personally bringing cash into the alleged laundering operation through the Samchan Foreign Exchange Corp. upon Romualdez’s instructions.
The Ombudsman accused Samchan of conducting simulated foreign exchange transactions to make the alleged kickbacks appear to have come from legitimate sources.
“Sereño, John Doe, and Jane Doe… personally delivered substantial amounts of cash… to Samchan for the specific purpose of carrying out the… simulated foreign exchange transactions,” the complaint said.
“Their delivery of the cash was not an isolated act, but an indispensable component of the laundering scheme.”
Prosecutors alleged that instead of paying sellers directly, the cash was routed through Samchan to hide its origin before being used in asset purchases identified in the complaint.
They argued that Sereño’s alleged role therefore went beyond physically carrying the money. She also helped place it into the financial transactions used to disguise its source.
The Ombudsman named Sereño as a respondent for money laundering and alleged that she conspired with the main figures in the ₱56 billion flood control kickback scheme.
The Ombudsman said Sereño and other unidentified household staff knowingly received, moved, concealed and kept custody of maletas containing alleged kickbacks. Prosecutors said these acts made her liable for money laundering and an alleged accomplice in plunder, direct bribery and indirect bribery.
They argued that her repeated receipt of the maletas, coordination with delivery teams and alleged role in bringing cash to Samchan showed that she was not merely performing household duties.
The money was routed through Samchan and OMLAW, the law firm of Atty. Jose Raulito Paras who acted as counsel and closing agent in purchasing # 30 Tamarind Road.
Prosecutors claimed the cash was made to appear as proceeds of legitimate foreign exchange transactions before it was used by Golden Pheasant Holdings Corp. to buy the Forbes Park property from Doris Teresa Magsaysay-Ho for ₱1.53408 billion.
The Ombudsman said: “The circumstances show that Sereño, John Doe and Jane Doe knew the purpose of the transactions and that the money came from unlawful activities. Instead of delivering the cash directly to OMLAW or the seller of 30 Tamarind, they coursed it through Samchan to make it appear as legitimate foreign exchange transactions before it was used to pay for the property.”