MANILA, Philippines – Caught in an investigation into a multibillion-dollar flood control scam, several elected officials have been impeached precautionary departure orders (PHDOs), while others are already frequently faced hold departure orders (HDOs)prevent them from leaving the country.
PHDOs and HDOs act as preventive court orders issued by a judge at the request of prosecutors. However, they vary depending on the circumstances of the case.
Department of Justice Document series no. 97 of 1998 defines an HDO as an order strictly issued by a trial court, preventing individuals from leaving the Philippines after formal criminal charges have been filed against them. This can come from the regional court or the Sandiganbayan.
At the same time, the PHDO instructs the Immigration Office to prevent any attempt by the accused to leave the country while the initial investigation is ongoing and before formal charges are filed in court, according to the Office of the Registrar of the High Court. Circular No. 194-2018.
A PHDO, however, can only be issued when probable cause based on the complaint filed is established.
Here is the list of elected public officials who are placed under PHDOs and HDOs:
Senator Jinggoy Estrada
Anti-corruption court Sandiganbayan charged on May 28, 2026, Estradaformer secretary of public works Manuel Bonoanalong with several other former officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), including looting and graft on the flood control scandal.
Later the court ordered them arrested and issued HDO on May 29, 2026. Estrada is now He is detained in the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas following his arrest in the Senate on June 1, 2026.
The case is based on allegations made by a former DPWH assistant engineer Brice HernandezWHO Associated Estrada and claimed that he received P355-million in funds from the 2025 Hagonoy and Malolos flood control projects in Bulacan. The amount owed represents 30% of the “SOP” payment.
The Independent Infrastructure Commission (ICI) recommended the submission criminal and administrative complaints against Estrada and his co-accused after revealing evidence linking them to massive flood control corruption. This is the mark of Estrada the third time to deal with the spoils and corruption charges.
His first booty a case was filed in 2001 with his father, former president Joseph Estrada, for allegedly collecting nearly P4 billion from jueteng activities and tobacco tax tax wages. His the second trophy and a corruption case was in 2014, implicating him in a multi-billion dollar pork barrel scam.
Estrada had already been acquitted in his first two extortion cases, but separate corruption and bribery cases from the investigation are still pending.
Senator Chiz Escudero
As a fellow senator, Escudero he has also been barred from leaving the country after the Sandiganbayan accepted the Ombudsman’s request for PHDO. on 27 April 2026.
Escudero is facing looting, corruption and bribery complaints related to the flood control scandal, where Centreways Construction and Development Inc. – owned by Lawrence Lubiano, his close friend and the 2022 senatorial election. major campaign donors – was implicated in the dispute. (READ: Chiz Escudero’s top campaign funder puts P5.16 billion into flood control projects)
Former DPWH secretary Roberto Bernardo claimed that he personally submitted a P160-million kickback for a businessman Written by Maynardwho is also Escudero’s close friend and campaign sponsor.
Former Speaker of Parliament Martin Romualdez
Romualdezwho is facing complaints of looting, corruption and money laundering for the alleged P56 billion flood control projects, also prevented from leaving the country on April 22, 2026, after the Sandiganbayan approved the Ombudsman’s request to bar his medical trip abroad.
While the months-long investigation and legal action are still ongoing, the Ombudsman has claimed that he is the “mastermind” behind the multi-billion flood control scam. In a video reportA former spokesman denied this.
The representative of Leyte, who was expected to travel to Singapore for his follow-up angioplasty examination, he sought permission to leave the country from April 20 to May 4, 2026, but the Ombudsman was only able to request a PHDO on April 21. His staff said that he was still in the country on April 22, a day after the PHDO was implemented.
Sandiganbayan denied Romualdez’s request to revoke his PHDO, according to a court decision made public on June 3, 2026. The court said that Romualdez failed to prove the necessity of his travel abroad and that no medical records were submitted to justify his visit to Singapore.
The former chairman of the distribution of houses Zaldy Co
Such as Romualdez, Co faces corruption and corruption charges filed by the Ombudsman on November 19, 2025. Following the filing of the case, the Sandiganbayan issued a warrant of arrest by the PHDO against him on November 21, 2025.
Before entering politics, the former representative of Ako Bicol Partylist was a long term contractor. He has since been implicated in several corruption allegations regarding public infrastructure, including irregularities in the P289.5-million flood control project along the Mag-asawang Tubig River in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.
Co he resigned from his position as a Member of Parliament on September 29, 2025, after the Parliament issued a decision asking him to return home or face disciplinary action for his absence since the start of the 20th Parliament.
In his resignation letter, Co said his departure from Congress was “due to a real, direct, serious and imminent threat to the lives of my family members and me, and the denial of my right to due process.”
Co managed to evade local law enforcement authorities because he was already out of the country when his permit was issued. He was looking for”treatment” in the United States A few days before, on November 15, 2025, he released the book of a three part video accusing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of receiving P25 billion as a hindrance from the inclusion of the 2025 budget.
After several months of running, Co was reported “detained” in Prague for the lack of necessary documents when crossing the Czech Republic. Marcos had posted that Co was already “to be arrested” (arrested), but Malacañang later said they “did not know” where Co is now.
In a decision made public June 2, 2026The 6th Division of the Sandiganbayan dismissed the co-accused’s motion to dismiss their misdemeanor case. As written, Co and other members of the Sunwest board who are facing embezzlement and corruption cases remain in general.
Yap brother
The Sandiganbayan issued a PHDO against Benguet Representative Eric Yap and his brother, former ACT-CIS representative Edvic Yap, preventing them from leaving the country on March 3, 2026.
The PHDO was granted after the Ombudsman’s Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) requested the suspension during its ongoing preliminary investigation.
The investigation follows the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s discovery that “The Silverwolves Construction Corporation made massive cash transfers of P6.1 billion to the personal accounts of Edvic Yap….and Eric Yap.”
PHDO’s OSP petition cited the previous complaint filed by the DPWH with the Ombudsman on October 23, 2025. The complaint alleged that Silverwolves falsely reported 100% completion in order to receive full payment for two P89-million unfinished flood control projects.
In the middle of the conflict, Edvic resigned from his post as ACT-CIS representative on February 4, 2026.
This story will be updated if more elected officials are given PHDOs or HDOs linked to the flood control scandal. – Rappler.com
