FIVE THINGS TO KNOW…

Short explainers published throughout the day.

5:30 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST ZALDY CO, MARTIN ROMUALDEZ AND TWO OTHERS

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez and two other accused in the plunder case filed on September 7. By Monday evening, authorities had served Romualdez's warrant and carried out booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan. His arrest is a confirmed development; it does not establish that his three co-accused are also in custody.

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3:15 PM8-minute read

ABOUT THE PLUNDER CASE AGAINST MARTIN ROMUALDEZ

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a plunder case against former House Speaker Martin Romualdez at the Sandiganbayan on September 7 over his alleged involvement in flood-control kickbacks. The accusations have now reached the court that will handle the criminal case. Romualdez denies wrongdoing and remains presumed innocent.

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1:18 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW SWS POVERTY NUMBERS

Self-rated poverty and food poverty declined in June, but the figures also show how many Filipino families remain under pressure and why lower household budgets do not necessarily mean life became cheaper.

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2:02 PM11-minute read

ABOUT THE CHILDREN'S SOCIAL MEDIA SAFETY ACT

House Bill No. 9965 would bar children below 13 from having social media accounts, require parental consent for users aged 13 to 17, regulate platform algorithms, and impose fines reaching P50 million. It is still being deliberated in the House.

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12:02 PM7-minute read

ABOUT THE SEALED BIR BOX

Marcos authorized the BIR to comply with the Senate subpoena. That did not open the records to the public or prove the unexplained-wealth allegation.

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MCT READER PULSE · MCT-PULSE-2026-007

MCT READER SURVEY

House prosecutors are considering whether to stop presenting evidence on the bribery article against Vice President Sara Duterte and move directly to the unexplained-wealth charge. Do you agree with that strategy?Pinag-iisipan ng mga prosekutor ng Kamara kung ititigil ang paghaharap ng ebidensiya sa artikulo tungkol sa panunuhol at tututok sa kasong hindi maipaliwanag na yaman laban kay Bise Presidente Sara Duterte. Sang-ayon ka ba sa estratehiyang ito?

Some prosecutors want to move directly to the unexplained-wealth charge; others want to proceed with all four articles. No final decision had been announced when this survey opened. The question is about prosecution strategy, not guilt.

Background: The Philippine Star and Daily Tribune.

This is an informal survey of verified MCT readers who choose to participate. It is not nationally representative.

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September 8, 2026 · 5:30 AM8-minute read

ABOUT THE NEW ARREST WARRANTS AGAINST ZALDY CO, MARTIN ROMUALDEZ AND TWO OTHERS

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the arrest of Zaldy Co, Martin Romualdez and two other accused in the plunder case filed on September 7. By Monday evening, authorities had served Romualdez's warrant and carried out booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan. His arrest is a confirmed development; it does not establish that his three co-accused are also in custody.

Official portraits of Zaldy Co and Martin Romualdez beside the Five Things to Know headline about the new arrest warrants.
Photos: House of Representatives

The names appear together in headlines, but their custody situations differ. A court can order four arrests without all four people entering custody at the same time. There is also Co's older case history to separate from this new order, and a practical question for authorities who say he is abroad: how will they bring him before the Philippine court?

1

THE COURT HAS ISSUED NEW WARRANTS AGAINST FOUR PEOPLE

The Sandiganbayan's Third Division issued arrest warrants against former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co, former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte representative Martin Romualdez, Joselyn Tragua Serenio and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra. The orders concern the plunder case filed by the Ombudsman earlier on September 7 over alleged kickbacks connected with flood-control and other government projects.

The court also issued a hold-departure order against the four. That restricts departure from the Philippines. It is a separate measure from the warrants directing their arrest, and neither order establishes that all four have been taken into custody.

In its statement, the Third Division said it had personally evaluated the records and found probable cause. This is the court's finding that there is sufficient basis to believe the accused committed the charged offense. Guilt must still be proved beyond reasonable doubt at trial, where the defense can challenge the prosecution's evidence.

Law enforcers now have court orders to carry out against the named accused. Each person's arrest or surrender would bring that person into custody, without deciding the criminal accusation against them.

WHAT TO WATCH

The officers' reports to the court on service of each warrant, particularly whether Co, Serenio or Guevarra has been located and brought into custody. Those reports will establish whose arrest remains to be carried out.

2

THE TWO OTHER ACCUSED ARE NAMED FOR ALLEGED ROLES IN THE TRANSACTIONS

The two less familiar names are Joselyn Tragua Serenio, identified in reporting as Romualdez's personal assistant, and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation. They are among the accused in this case, not merely people mentioned in its background.

Reports on the court filing say prosecutors allege that money was delivered to properties owned by, occupied by or associated with Romualdez and received by Serenio and others acting on his behalf. Guevarra's alleged role concerns transactions through Samchan that helped fund a property purchase linked to Romualdez.

These are specific accusations that require evidence. A person's job title does not establish participation in a crime. An assistant receiving something and a foreign-exchange business handling a transaction are not, by themselves, proof of plunder; the alleged unlawful purpose and the person's participation must be established.

For readers trying to follow the case, the useful questions are who allegedly received the money, who handled its conversion, and what records or testimony support those claims. The two accused must also have the opportunity to answer the allegations against them.

WHAT TO WATCH

The evidence identifying Serenio's and Guevarra's individual participation, together with their responses. Keep an accusation against a named person separate from assumptions about every employee or business connected with that person.

3

CO'S EARLIER WARRANTS DO NOT MAKE THIS OLD NEWS

Co already faced an arrest warrant in an earlier graft case involving an allegedly anomalous flood-control project in Oriental Mindoro. In July, the Sandiganbayan announced that the case had been archived after authorities failed to bring him into custody for more than six months.

Archiving did not mean that the court acquitted him or decided the accusation was false. It removed the unresolved case from the active calendar while he remained unavailable. That older proceeding must be distinguished from the new plunder case and the September 7 warrant.

For Co, the immediate question is how authorities will reach him. At a September 7 press briefing, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said Co was in France. The Ombudsman said he planned to travel there in the coming days to speak with French authorities. He announced an intended trip, with no completed arrangement for Co's return established by that statement.

Nor should earlier reports about asylum be treated as a settled answer. Asked about asylum applications at that briefing, the Ombudsman said he did not have that information.

WHAT TO WATCH

An official confirmation of Co's location and the action taken on this new warrant. Any reported arrest abroad must identify its legal basis; an immigration matter and detention for this Philippine plunder case are not interchangeable.

4

ROMUALDEZ IS IN POLICE CUSTODY EVEN THOUGH HE IS IN HOSPITAL

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that Romualdez was served the warrant at Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Monday evening. Authorities also read him his rights and carried out booking procedures in the hospital.

Being in hospital did not prevent the warrant from being served. Police secured his room and the hospital while doctors assessed him. Remulla said Romualdez had unstable blood pressure and other medical concerns. The medical assessment would help determine when he could be brought before the court; a hospital photograph cannot answer that question or establish that someone is pretending to be ill.

Where he will be detained next depends on decisions still ahead. His medical condition must be assessed, and any transfer must follow the court's authority over his custody. A political assurance about moving him to jail does not establish when that transfer can happen or what the court will order.

Romualdez's lawyer said he would face the allegations through the legal process. His custody does not settle his guilt, and a change in detention arrangements would not, by itself, dismiss the case.

WHAT TO WATCH

The medical report actually submitted and the Sandiganbayan's custody instructions, including whether he stays in hospital under guard or is transferred to a detention facility. A lawyer's request alone would not settle those arrangements.

5

A HOLD-DEPARTURE ORDER CANNOT BRING SOMEONE ABROAD HOME

The hold-departure order addresses leaving the Philippines. For an accused whom authorities say is already abroad, locating that person and securing a lawful return require additional steps. The Philippine court's warrant does not give Philippine officers unrestricted power to arrest someone inside another country.

International police cooperation also has limits. INTERPOL explains that a Red Notice asks authorities to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action. It is not an international arrest warrant, and each country applies its own law in deciding whether to make an arrest.

A Philippine warrant, an INTERPOL notice and a foreign authority's decision are therefore separate steps. None should be assumed from the announcement of another. The Ombudsman's planned France trip could open discussions, but the announcement does not establish that French authorities have agreed to detain Co or return him.

For anyone waiting to see whether the warrants produce results, the useful measure is what authorities actually secure: a located accused, a documented arrest, a lawful return and an appearance before the court. An announced meeting cannot establish any of those outcomes in advance.

WHAT TO WATCH

Statements or orders from the authorities handling Co's situation abroad, including the legal basis for any detention or return. Avoid promised arrival dates until there is a confirmed arrangement that supports them.

BOTTOM LINE

Four people are covered by the new warrants. Romualdez's service and custody have been confirmed. Whether and how the orders are carried out against Co, Serenio and Guevarra remain separate questions, even though they are accused in the same case. An arrest involving one does not supply the answer for the others.

The next developments should be measurable: which warrants are served, what the court orders about custody, and whether action abroad brings Co before the Sandiganbayan. None replaces the prosecution's obligation to prove the charge. Public accountability requires both enforcing lawful orders and testing the accusations fairly in court.

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