Court orders Romualdez transfer to QC jail

MANILA, Philippines — The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Monday ordered the transfer of former Speaker Martin Romualdez to New Quezon City Jail in Barangay Payatas.

Associate Justice Karl Miranda issued the order after the testimony of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) Director Gerardo Legaspi, who told the court that Romualdez was medically stable and fit to be discharged from PGH “at any time.”

Romualdez has been confined at PGH since Saturday despite an outstanding arrest warrant for plunder. He was earlier transferred to PGH from Cardinal Santos Medical Center, where he was arrested on Sept. 7 while in hospital confinement for a purported variety of ailments.

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In his motion filed last week, the Leyte representative said he was suffering from Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, primary hypothyroidism, and other illnesses.

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

Facing charges

Romualdez, former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co, and two others were ordered arrested by the court on plunder charges involving alleged kickbacks worth P7.44 billion from flood control and infrastructure projects funded under the General Appropriations Acts from 2022 to 2025.

Shortly after the court order, Romualdez said in a statement: “I respect the decision of the Sandiganbayan.”

“I have always said that I will face the charges against me and answer them before the proper court. That has not changed. I maintain my innocence,” he added.

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Romualdez said the arrest and the transfer was a “difficult moment” for him and his family, but stressed that he would “face the days ahead with dignity, with faith in God, and with confidence in the truth.”

The former Speaker also expressed thanks to his doctors, both at Cardinal Santos and PGH.

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“I will continue to follow the medical advice of my doctors,” he said.

Romualdez had yet to be transferred to the Quezon City jail at press time on Monday night.

‘Clinically stable’

The risk of Romualdez getting a heart attack “is not very high,” Legaspi told the court, based on the independent assessment of PGH specialists that the Sandiganbayan had ordered the hospital to conduct on Romualdez. The results of the assessment were submitted to the court on Sunday.

Legaspi said “continued in-patient hospital confinement is not medically required” as long as Romualdez regularly monitored his blood pressure and took his maintenance medications.

The lawmaker’s hypertension and diabetes were also under control, while Legaspi recommended that Romualdez’s sleep apnea be addressed to reduce the risk of stroke recurrence through the CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, which could be used “in a non-hospital setting.”

PGH specialists also confirmed that Romualdez was suffering from anxiety and depression, but they found “no evidence of suicidal intent to warrant isolation and heightened security intervention.”

With all of Romualdez’s medical conditions taken into account, Legaspi said “the patient’s current condition is clinically stable.”

Not political drama

President Marcos, meanwhile, dismissed claims that the arrest of Romualdez, his cousin and close political ally, was merely political drama.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday in New Delhi, India, where he attended the BRICS Summit, Mr. Marcos called the criticisms “an insult” aimed at putting him down.

“They’re not commenting about [the case]. That’s not a comment on the procedures of the court. It’s just another attack. We get them a lot,” he said.

Mr. Marcos earlier said his family would not be spared from his administration’s campaign against corruption.

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“I am not the President of my family. I am not the President of my friends. I am the President of the Philippines, and my duty is to you, my fellow Filipinos,” the President said in his fifth Sona on July 27. —With a report from Dexter Cabalza