Allegations that Speaker Martin Romualdez received a bribe from Okada Manila’s parent company, Universal Entertainment (UE), to help them regain ownership of the luxurious hotel were brought before a court in Delaware, US, but were not addressed when the case closed.
Vice President Sara Duterte, however, said in her Oct. 18 press conference that Romualdez received a bribe, citing records in another country:
Imagine ninyo, meron tayong speaker na (we have a speaker that) on record, on paper, in another country, na tumanggap ng suhol (accepted a bribe).
Duterte raised this issue without going into details in answer to a query about her falling out with Romualdez.
The bribery claim against Romualdez stemmed from the ownership dispute between Tiger Resort Asia Limited, a subsidiary of UE, and 26 Capital Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company incorporated in Delaware, that reached the Delaware Court of Chancery on Aug. 25, 2023 after a failed merger.
The Delaware Chancery Court settles disputes between business corporations making opinions based on principles of equity.
26 Capital requested for a decree of specific performance to allow the merging but was not granted by the court. The case closed on Sept. 7, 2023.
In its testimony in the court, 26 Capital said Universal Entertainment gave Romualdez a “heavy luggage” carrying an “item” in exchange for his intervention in the ownership takeover of Okada on July 27, 2022.
It also presented email exchanges between UE executives and Romualdez as part of evidence in the Delaware Chancery Court.
Court documents said Okada executives approached Romualdez after receiving “no response” from the Philippine Supreme Court regarding its “extremely urgent motion for reconsideration” dated May 2, 2022, and supplement filed on June 9, 2022, to regain control.
The High Court issued a resolution on Aug. 10, 2022, saying it would not hesitate to provide a status quo ante order (again if its intervention is warranted.
A status quo ante order would allow Kazuo Okada to reclaim his position in the company before his removal in 2017.
Romualdez denied the bribery allegations in a press briefing on Oct. 5, 2023. He also said he was “never contacted” to appear in the US court.
The Delaware court did not look into the allegations, saying Romualdez did not “play ball” with the Okada executives, even after recognizing that Okada tried to have a “dodgy bargain” with the speaker.
The Philippine high court later lifted the status quo order dismissing Kazuo Okada's complaint after “finding no merit” in the executive’s petition to reclaim his position in November 2023.
Duterte had earlier accused Romualdez of “meddling” in the Department of Education budget deliberations when she was still the education secretary.
Romualdez, in turn, branded Duterte as someone who “(misuses) public funds”.
Duterte’s Oct. 18 press conference came amid President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s statement that he felt deceived by the vice president for saying they were not friends. (CA)