Jose Raulito Paras is not a widely known personality, yet information from the Office of the Ombudsman tags him as being central to what appears to be a network linked to former House speaker Martin Romualdez.

The Ombudsman is investigating Paras and Romualdez for alleged money laundering, based on a South Forbes Park mansion bought in 2023, according to an affidavit submitted to the Sandiganbayan that supports a request for a precautionary hold departure order. 

The property was previously reported on by Rappler and only briefly referenced in a January 2026 Senate hearing.

Rappler reached out to Paras through his law office email and phone number. On Wednesday, April 22, his secretary confirmed receipt of the letter but said the lawyer is out of the country.

Rappler also sent Viber messages to Romualdez’s two known numbers on Wednesday. Both numbers had previously been used to receive and view questions from Rappler in connection with earlier investigative reports. As of Wednesday evening, he had not “seen” the messages.
We will update this story once we get a response.

So who is Paras?

Paras is a lawyer, business associate, and Upsilon fraternity brother of Romualdez. Their relationship spans decades and has crossed personal and professional dealings, including multi-million-dollar properties uncovered by Rappler. 

He obtained his undergraduate degree from the University of the Philippines in 1993 and his law degree from San Beda University in 1997. He placed fifth in the 1997 Bar Exams. 

A profile published on the Upsilon Sigma Phi Alumni Association’s website describes Paras as having “extensive experience in the practice of law.” He “handles various civil and criminal cases and remains active in trial and appellate litigation, and “was a faculty member of a few law schools.” 

Paras’ career began in 1997 as a junior associate at the Ponce Enrile Cayetano Reyes & Manalastas law firm, before becoming legal manager of the Lepanto Consolidated Mining Company and Manila Mining Corporation in 2000.

He then established the Quial Gines Paras & Beltran law firm in 2003, before becoming the founding partner of his current law firm, Padernal & Paras Law Offices, in 2004. Paras also worked as legal consultant in the Office of the Vice President from 2004 to 2010. 

A figure in Romualdez’s multi-million properties

Beyond his legal practice, Paras had repeatedly surfaced in corporate and property transactions linked to Romualdez over the years, based on records cited in legal filings and disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

He has held positions in companies and deal structures associated with the former House speaker’s business network, including being treasurer of Romualdez’s Media Serbisyo Production Corporation, a broadcasting joint venture with ABS-CBN that was launched in 2023.

Paras also served on the board of the Romualdez-owned Benguet Corporation starting August 2018, but resigned by August 2023 for “personal reasons and commitments,” according to disclosures with the Philippine Stock Exchange.

Paras is, however, not only associated with companies publicly tied to the Romualdez family. In several instances, his name appears alongside entities tied to acquisitions and asset movements involving multi-million-peso properties. 

One company, Braavos Holdings, is linked to a firm that purchased a mansion in Spain valued at between 6.5 million and 6.9 million euros (about P444.5 million to P471.8 million), a Rappler investigation found. 

The property, Villa Kabila, is a 2,019-square-meter residence located in Sotogrande, an upscale resort enclave in Cádiz, Spain. Property records obtained by Rappler show it was acquired in January 2024 by Singapore-registered firm CECIL PROPERTY PTE LTD.

Corporate registration records in Singapore further show that Braavos is listed among the incorporators of CECIL. Paras is listed as the sole director and incorporator of Braavos, which also shares the same office address as his law firm.

Paras is also listed as an officer of Eight-8-Ate Holdings, a company majority owned by Crystal Jacinto, the wife of Malaysian businessman Jaya Sudhir whose son, Johnathan Sudhir, is listed as another shareholder of CECIL. Both Jacinto and Jaya Sudhir also appear to have close associations with Romualdez.

In the Philippines, a company linked to Paras is also tagged as being behind a transaction involving a mansion in South Forbes Park in Makati. 

Golden Pheasant Holdings Corporation purchased the 3,196-square-meter house and lot on 30 Tamarind Road for P1.665 billion in 2023. This company’s president and 99.9% shareholder is Paras, based on its October 2025 General Information Sheet filed with the SEC. 

The Office of the Ombudsman, in a filing before the Sandiganbayan obtained by Rappler, said that “there exists a marked disparity” between the value of the South Forbes Park property and Paras’ financial capacity. 

Records from the Bureau of Internal Revenue showed that Paras “does not possess the financial capacity to fund advances of such magnitude” and that the manager’s checks used to buy the property were purchased by an entity that “has transferred funds to Romualdez’s Golden Pheasant, and Paras on separate occasions.” 

“This disparity is clarified when viewed in light of Paras’ relationship with Romualdez,” the Office of the Ombudsman said. 

Rappler had repeatedly sought Paras’ comment prior the publication of the reports on the two properties in February 2026, but never received a response.

The Upsilon connection

To understand why Paras figured in the world of Romualdez is to go back to their days at the University of the Philippines.

In 1990, Paras joined the Upsilon Sigma Phi fraternity. Romualdez had earlier joined the same fraternity in 1985, meaning their memberships overlapped until Romualdez completed law school in 1992.

The acquisitions of the two properties (Sotogrande and Forbes Park) are not the only times when Romualdez tapped his Upsilon network. 

Another involved a property, this time in the United States. In July 2025, Romualdez transferred a 2.5-hectare estate in Dover, Massachusetts worth $2.24-million (P130.5 million) to newly-created AMMY INC. for just $1.

Lawyer Andrew Casiño, the corporation’s listed director, is Romualdez’s fraternity brother. He also sits on the board of directors of the Romualdez-owned Benguet Corporation.

Dover is an affluent town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts. It ranks as the wealthiest town in the state going by per capita income, with the median value of houses pegged at $1.74 million (P101.24 million).

This property is about 32 kilometers, or 30 minutes away from Harvard University, where the former House speaker allegedly donated in 2023 around $2 million for the university’s first-ever Filipino language course.

The latest document filed by the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan identified Paras as the one who “acted on behalf of Romualdez” in this donation, as records showed that it was him who transferred the money to the university. 

“These overlapping corporate roles, together with Romualdez’s established control over Benguet Corporation, demonstrate a pattern of Paras acting within corporate structures linked to Romualdez’s interests,” the Ombudsman said in the document obtained by Rappler.

Sources familiar with the fraternity told Rappler that Romualdez’s other dealings follow a similar pattern, with close fraternity brothers allegedly serving as intermediaries. 

In the world of financial crimes, this scheme involves using “straw persons” or fronts to conceal the true beneficial owner of a property and obscure links to officials.

Will the public see more soon? – Rappler.com