Former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III has identified former House Speaker Martin Romualdez and former Appropriations Committee chairperson Stella Quimbo as masterminds of allegedly anomalous flood control projects.
In an interview, Bello directly named the two lawmakers when asked who he believes orchestrated the alleged scheme, saying the issue goes beyond individual contractors or lower-ranking officials.
“Who do you think is the mastermind in this scam? Zaldy Co lang ito? Speaker (Romualdez) and iyong si Stella Quimbo. Iyan ang mga mastermind diyan,” Bello said in an interview, referring to the former Marikina City 2nd District lawmaker.
(Is it just Zaldy Co? It’s Speaker Romualdez and Stella Quimbo. They are the masterminds behind it.)
Bello lamented that investigations and complaints have primarily targeted contractors and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officers, while overlooking congressional leaders, he believes orchestrated the scheme.
“Kayo nasa media, palagi niyong kino-cover iyong investigation, filing of complaint, hindi niyo ba napapansin na ang hinahabol lalong-lalo ng Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) ay ang mga kontratista at ang mga DPWH officers? Bakit hindi hinahabol ang source of the corruption. Congress,” he pointed out.
(You in the media always cover the investigations and the filing of complaints. Haven’t you noticed that the Independent Commission for Infrastructure is mainly going after contractors and DPWH officers? Why isn’t the source of the corruption being pursued? Congress.)
He also believes that Malacañang was complicit in the budget manipulation. “Kasama iyan,” he said. (That’s part of it.)
Quimbo served as a member of the bicameral conference committee as the vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations. She later became committee chairperson after the resignation of Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Zaldy Co.
Quimbo was also part of the small committee where alleged insertions in the 2025 national budget were said to have occurred.
Records show that Quimbo had four infrastructure projects in her district. Quimbo also allocated P950 million to transform Marikina Polytechnic College (MPC) into a “Smart Campus.” The project went to Sunwest Construction and Development Corporation, a company linked to Co.
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