MANILA — The Sandiganbayan Third Division has ordered former House Speaker Martin Romualdez transferred to the Quezon City Jail in Payatas after Philippine General Hospital (PGH) doctors found him medically stable and no longer requiring hospital confinement.
The order clears the way for Romualdez to be detained in jail while facing proceedings arising from allegations linked to the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
PGH Director Dr. Gerardo “Gap” D. Legaspi said Monday that while Romualdez’s medical conditions require regular treatment and monitoring, these can be managed outside a hospital provided that proper medical care remains available.
Legaspi said the medical assessment placed Romualdez’s risk of suffering a heart attack at 30% over the next 30 years, or approximately 3% annually, a level he described as not particularly high.
The PGH director also reported that Romualdez faces a 3% to 5% risk of stroke. He explained that the condition involves small-vessel disease rather than a major artery in the brain and is commonly associated with diabetes.
Doctors also advised Romualdez to use a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine to address airway pressure problems while sleeping, but Legaspi said the former speaker declined the recommendation.
The hospital assessment also identified major depression and anxiety but found no indication that Romualdez had suicidal intent.
Despite clearing him for discharge, PGH recommended continued follow-up consultations and monitoring of his mood and other related health risks.
Romualdez was transferred to PGH from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Saturday morning on orders of the Sandiganbayan Third Division.
The anti-graft court had directed PGH specialists to independently determine whether Romualdez required continued hospital-based care following the issuance of an arrest warrant against him. The court had indicated that if confinement was deemed unnecessary, he could be transferred to the Quezon City Jail.
Meanwhile, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. rejected allegations that the arrest of his cousin was staged to create political drama or that Romualdez was being accorded special treatment.
Asked about the accusations, Marcos said these had little to do with the judicial proceedings against the former speaker and were instead attempts by critics to discredit his administration.
“It’s kind of may masabi, kailangan may masabi para insultuhin ka o to put you down, or sabihin mali ‘yung ginagawa mo,” Marcos said. “Basta ang sasabihin basically pinapatunay nila na wala kang kwentang tao.”
The President stressed that such remarks should not be construed as an assessment of the judicial process or the actions being taken by the courts.
“So they have to say that. So that’s what they’re saying. They’re not commenting about. That’s not a comment on the procedures of court. It’s just another attack. We get them a lot,” he said.
Romualdez is facing proceedings over allegations connected to the government’s investigation into the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.
Marcos has repeatedly maintained that individuals implicated in wrongdoing must be held accountable regardless of family ties or political alliances, while stressing that those accused must be afforded due process under the law./PN
