Metro Manila, Philippines – The Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered the detention of former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez at the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory, the designated facility for accused individuals in the flood control scandal.
Sandiganbayan Third Division chairperson Karl Miranda signed the commitment order on Thursday, Sept. 10.
“We hereby commit to you the living person of accused Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez, who is charged in the aforesaid case for the crime of plunder, to be held therein as a detention prisoner and as such, the accused shall not be moved, removed, transferred and/or otherwise be released therefrom unless ordered by the court,” the order read.
The Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) said it will comply with the court order.
“From CIDG, BJMP na ang magbabantay doon sa kanya sa ospital,” said CIDG-NCR PCol. John Guiagui.
[Translation: The BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology) will take over securing him at the hospital.]
The court has yet to order the lawmaker’s transfer from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he has remained since his arrest on Sept. 7, pending a hospital confinement request.
Conflicting testimonies
The Sandiganbayan proceeded with its hearing on Romualdez’s request for continued hospital confinement, where two of his doctors gave conflicting testimonies about his admission to the private hospital.
Kurt Allen Sibayan, the admitting physician, said he was barred from seeing the former speaker but was asked to prepare his medical abstract.
Hematologist Rosalio Torres, who coordinated Romualdez’s team of doctors, later took the witness stand and contradicted Sibayan’s testimony, saying he was able to check Romualdez.
Torres said there was no condition from a hematology standpoint that would warrant Romualdez’s continued confinement. However, he said Romualdez required continuous monitoring and transferring him to another medical facility could pose a risk because of his high risk of a heart attack.
He noted that the first hour of a cardiovascular emergency is critical.
The court questioned the five- to six-hour gap between the time Torres was informed of Romualdez’s chest discomfort and his eventual admission to the hospital.
Torres earlier recalled that he was informed of Romualdez’s chest discomfort between 9 and 10 a.m. on Sept. 7 and that he advised the lawmaker’s confinement for further evaluation.
Romualdez was admitted to Cardinal Santos at around 4 p.m.
Torres also said the monitoring could be conducted by other doctors, including non-specialists, but the specialists should be available if complications arise.
Romualdez did not attend the hearing after his doctors said he was unfit to travel, according to the PNP.
The hearing will continue on Friday, Sept. 11, with Romualdez’s cardiologist, Rody Sy, and another physician, Rogelio Libarres, set to testify.
In a manifestation submitted to the court, Romualdez sought hospital confinement due to several medical conditions. The Ombudsman said its prosecutors will strongly oppose the motion.
The Department of Interior and Local Government said it wants Romualdez transferred to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame.
The court set Romualdez’s arraignment and pre-trial for the case of Romualdez on Monday, Sept. 14.
The president’s cousin has been staying at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City since his arrest on Sept. 7.
The court set Romualdez’s arraignment and pre-trial for the case of Romualdez on Monday, Sept. 14.
The ombudsman alleged that Romualdez amassed ₱7.4 billion from commissions and bribes supposedly in exchange for flood control project contracts from 2022 to 2025.
He is so far the most influential person among those facing charges as a result of President Bongbong Marcos’ order to probe high-level corruption in flood control projects, and Congress also taking up the issue even if a number of those mentioned in investigations are sitting lawmakers.
In August, the Ombudsman said it had at least 28 witnesses in the Romualdez case, despite the former speaker pointing out the retractions of five people who identified the lawmaker as recipient of project kickbacks.
