Former Philippine House speaker arrested for corruption

The Philippines' lawmaker and former speaker of the House of Representatives Martin Romualdez is under arrest for allegedly pocketing millions of dollars in kickbacks from flood control projects.

Romualdez, a cousin and former ally of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., faces plunder charges and is now officially under the custody of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group.

The lawmaker, who used to lead the House appropriations committee, is among several powerful legislators accused of pocketing huge kickbacks in flood control projects since Marcos took office.

An ombudsman says around 118 million US dollars are involved in the corruption case and "divided in various transactions where the money was used."

He adds more cases will be filed against Romualdez including plunder and money laundering charges.