It was a rare occurrence in the Philippines to see a politician, especially one with the political clout of the Romualdez family, to be driven from power. At a hearing last week, contractors Sarah and Curlee Discaya, the owners of nine construction firms, including top flood control contractors, submitted a sworn affidavit linking numerous lawmakers to the scandal. Romualdez has enjoyed strong support from a big majority of the 317-member House since he was first elected speaker in 2022 and again in July 2025. Since then, Romualdez has been conspicuously absent from public functions and a recent foreign trip. Marcos has created a three-man Independent Commission for Infrastructure to investigate the flood control anomalies.