Philippine president's lawmaker cousin arrested over flood control scandal

Philippine police arrested a lawmaker and cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in his hospital bed on Monday over his alleged involvement in a massive corruption scandal tied to bogus flood control projects.

The arrest came hours after prosecutors filed a "plunder" case against Martin Romualdez alleging 7.4 billion pesos ($117.9 million) in bribes, anomalous budget insertions and project allocations.

Marcos put the so-called ghost infrastructure projects, believed to have cost Filipino taxpayers billions of dollars, at the centre of his public address in July last year.

"I'm here with (Police) General Nartatez to serve the warrant of arrest to former speaker Martin Romualdez," Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla told reporters outside Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

Romualdez had been brought to the private hospital in the afternoon after suffering from "unstable blood pressure" and "anxiety attack", Remulla added.

"After we read him his rights, he is now considered a person deprived of liberty," Remulla said.

Plunder is a non-bailable offence referring to large-scale corruption punishable by life imprisonment.

In a statement to reporters earlier in the day, Romualdez's lawyer said his client would face the allegations against him through the courts.

"We respect the courts and the legal process," lawyer Ade Fajardo said.

"(Romualdez) asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino. Truth, evidence, and a fair process must prevail."

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla, brother of the interior ministry chief, said that prosecutors intended to file additional cases against Romualdez and others implicated in the flood control scandal.

"We don't pick and choose. There is no name here that we're trying to avoid. Everything here is based on evidence," he told reporters.

"This case proves that there are no sacred cows."

Romualdez's co-respondents include absconded former lawmaker Elizaldy Co and several others accused of conspiring to unlawfully accumulate wealth through government funds.

In September last year, Romualdez resigned as speaker of the House of Representatives after his name surfaced in the widening investigation.

At the time, he said stepping down would allow investigators to perform their work without "undue influence".

He remains a member of congress.

Over the past year, prosecutors have filed cases against a number of sitting and former lawmakers, public works officials and construction company representatives allegedly linked to the scheme.

Corruption has long been a problem in the Philippines, and accounts for much of the archipelago nation's massive poverty.