Rappler Investigation Exposes Network of Multi-Million-Dollar US Properties Linked to Martin Romualdez

Investigation Exposes Multi-Million-Dollar US Property Network Linked to Martin Romualdez

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A Rappler investigation uncovered a network of multi-million-dollar US properties connected to Leyte Representative and former House speaker Martin Romualdez. The properties, valued at over P1.7 billion, were purchased by companies associated with Romualdez's close business associates and fraternity brothers.

Jodesz Gavilan, Rappler's lead editorial researcher, worked on the series of investigations tracing the network of US properties connected to Romualdez. Gavilan's latest piece follows an estate in Greenwich, Connecticut, purchased for $6.9 million (P425 million) in September 2022 by a company associated with Andrew Casiño, a close business associate and fraternity brother of Romualdez.

Some of the comments following the publication argued that the transaction was merely a coincidence, and that Casiño's purchase should not be linked to Romualdez. That rhetoric overlooks how investigations like these work. What caught Gavilan's attention while reporting on the Connecticut estate was how familiar everything felt after months of doing the work that exposed the links to Romualdez.

It shows the same cast of characters and plot. A transaction involves a company whose member or leader is a close business associate or fraternity brother of Romualdez. The pattern is so brazen that you can just replace the names of entities or individuals involved, and yet it will still lead to the former House speaker. For example, Golden Pheasant Holdings Corporation purchased a mansion in South Forbes Park in Makati City for P1.665 billion. The company's president is lawyer Jose Raulito Paras, who sat on the boards of Romualdez-owned businesses, and also an Upsilon fraternity brother.

The transactions involving Casiño take the pattern a step further. Both the Connecticut property and another estate in Massachusetts were transferred via quitclaim deeds to companies registered in Delaware in July 2025. Delaware, of course, is well-known for allowing a degree of anonymity that can make it difficult to determine who ultimately controls a company. Any one of these transactions can be explained away on its own. But you don't need to be an investigative journalist to recognize a pattern.

They're difficult to ignore once you see them.

Routines have a way of revealing themselves through repetition. Most people repeat the same routes, the same habits, and the same behaviors because it's easier. It turns out that government officials with their millions of pesos worth of assets can fall into routines too. Spotting those routines, however, requires the kind of sustained reporting that follows trails despite the crazy political chaos.

If you value journalism that uncovers patterns hidden in plain sight, consider supporting our work by subscribing to Rappler+. The investigation is part of a series of Rappler stories exposing patterns of wealth accumulation by government officials.

Gavilan's investigation into Romualdez's US properties highlights the need for increased transparency in asset declarations by government officials.