politics
AI-Generated Video Falsely Shows Romualdez Denying Budget Approval and Challenging Senate
A Facebook video posted July 15 shows former House speaker Martin Romualdez denying he approved the budget and daring the Senate to question him. Detection tools rated the clip 64% and 72% likely AI-generated. No credible outlets reported the statements.
Jul 21, 5:51 AM·1m read1 source
RapplerAudio version
Tap play to generate a narrated version.
Developing·Limited corroboration so far. This page will refresh as more sources emerge.
A video posted July 15 by the Facebook page PolPolitika purports to show former House speaker Martin Romualdez denying he approved the national budget and challenging the Senate to summon him for questioning on corruption allegations. Rappler reported that the clip, filmed as if during an interview aboard a ship, drew more than 2,100 reactions, 1,700 shares, and 700 comments within days.
In the footage Romualdez states it is impossible he approved the budget and adds that he is not afraid to appear before senators.
He also names Senators Vicente Sotto III, Panfilo Lacson, and the Tulfo brothers. Detection tools detectvideo.ai and Humantext.pro assessed the video as AI-generated with likelihoods of 64% and 72% respectively. No credible media outlets have reported that Romualdez made those statements.
Rappler noted he has denied masterminding any corruption scheme in an April 2026 video and has not attended Senate hearings on the matter. Romualdez remains under a precautionary hold departure order. The U.S.
Government canceled his diplomatic and tourist visas, and the Court of Appeals earlier in 2026 ordered the freezing of assets linked to him. Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano stated July 20 that the investigation identifies Romualdez as the central figure in a scheme diverting flood-control funds.
In November 2025 former Ako Bicol representative Zaldy Co released a video accusing Romualdez and President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
Of directing insertions in the 2025 national budget. The Office of the Ombudsman has tagged Romualdez as the central figure in related ghost-project allegations.
