It’s not every day a Philippine political story has a direct Singapore angle, but this one does, and it’s worth knowing about if you follow the news from home.
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla told reporters at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City that he was moving to stop Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez from flying to Singapore for what Romualdez’s camp described as a medical checkup following a previous angioplasty. Asked about House of Representatives Speaker Faustino “Bojie” Dy III supposedly approving the trip, Remulla’s reaction was short: *“It is what it is.”*
His position was just as direct. In Filipino, he said the Ombudsman is not allowing the trip and was telling the Bureau of Immigration the same: *“Hindi namin pinapayagan. Sinasabi ko sa Bureau of Immigration, huwag niyong gawin. Nasa imbestigasyon siya.”* (Translation: We are not allowing it. I’m telling the Bureau of Immigration, don’t do it. He is under investigation.)
This is according to a report by Inquirer.net on April 22, 2026.
What was reportedly approved
Per Inquirer, on Tuesday, Romualdez’s camp shared a copy of his letter-request to Speaker Dy. The reported clearance covers travel abroad from April 20 to May 4, 2026, with Singapore named as the destination for a medical follow-up.
Romualdez has previously undergone an angioplasty, a heart procedure to open blocked arteries, and the Singapore trip was framed as a routine check-up.
Why the Ombudsman is pushing back
Remulla maintained that Romualdez should not be allowed to leave the country. The Office of the Ombudsman has, according to the same report, already endorsed a complaint before the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) seeking an asset freeze order against Romualdez. The investigation is connected to allegations around the 2025 national budget controversy and a wider infrastructure corruption scandal.
In addition to opposing the travel clearance, the Ombudsman has asked the Sandiganbayan, the Philippines’ anti-graft court, to issue a precautionary hold departure order (PHDO) against Romualdez. A PHDO is a court order that bars a person from leaving the country while a case is being built. Remulla declined to answer further questions on this when asked by reporters. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano also declined to comment.
How Romualdez’s side has responded
Romualdez has publicly pushed back. He has filed a motion seeking the disqualification of Remulla from the probe, citing alleged bias, according to Inquirer’s related reporting. The Ombudsman, for his part, has not signalled any intention to step aside.
The bigger backdrop
Remulla and Clavano were briefly at the Batasang Pambansa as resource persons in the House justice committee’s third hearing on the impeachment complaints against Vice President Sara Duterte, before the Ombudsman left the hearing citing a heavy workload. House justice committee chairperson Rep. Gerville Luistro confirmed the early exit.
In other words: this is not happening in isolation. The Ombudsman’s office is simultaneously dealing with high-profile probes, the impeachment hearings against the VP, the Romualdez investigation, and several other politically sensitive cases, all of which are pulling national headlines at the same time.
