Agencies, lawmakers urged: Address QC jail needs amid Romualdez transfer

MANILA, Philippines—The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Tuesday called the attention of two government agencies and lawmakers regarding the equipment and staff needed by New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas following the transfer of former Speaker Martin Romualdez.

In a statement, the court said copies of its Sept. 14 order directing the transfer of Romualdez to the New Quezon City Jail has been sent to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), House of Representatives and Senate.

“The furnishing of the Order brings the identified needs of detention facilities to the attention of the agencies and institutions concerned,” it said.

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READ: Sandiganbayan orders Romualdez’s transfer to QC jail in Payatas

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The move seeks “to ensure that detention facilities are adequately equipped and staffed to provide appropriate care and humane conditions of confinement,” added the court.

The Third Division noted that Dr. Henry Fabro, chief medical officer of the BJMP Quezon City Jail – Male Dormitory, earlier testified on the resources required by the New Quezon City Jail during a hearing on Monday regarding the former Speaker’s motion for continued hospital confinement.

Fabro confirmed that the jail has the “necessary facilities to monitor and attend to accused Romualdez’s health concerns” and that he can still use his continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, consult with private doctors, take his medications and be brought to the nearest hospital if needed.

However, the court noted that Fabro also “identified several needs of the jail facility in providing adequate medical care to all persons deprived of liberty. These include additional hospital beds, medical supplies, medical equipment, and doctors, the court said.

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“In view of the materiality of these matters, the Court directed the Clerk of Court to furnish copies of the Order to the BJMP, DBM, DILG, the House of Representatives, and the Senate,” said the court.

The Third Division on Monday ordered the transfer of Romualdez to the New Quezon City Jail after Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi testified that he was medically stable and fit to be discharged from the hospital “at any time.”

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The former speaker was first confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he was arrested on Sept. 7 over plunder charges. On the same day, Romualdez submitted a manifestation asking for his continued hospital confinement.

He was later transferred to PGH on Saturday after the court ordered Legaspi or any of his authorized representatives to conduct an independent medical examination on the former speaker to verify the findings of the doctors at Cardinal Santos. /mr