MANILA – The Sandiganbayan on Monday ordered former House Speaker Martin Romualdez transferred from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) to the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas after doctors found him medically stable and in need of no special monitoring.

The anti-graft court’s Third Division issued the order after PGH physicians submitted the results of their independent medical examination to the court.

Romualdez was transferred to PGH from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Saturday for the examination.

In a statement, Romualdez said he respects the court’s decision and would continue following his doctors’ advice.

“I thank my physicians at Cardinal Santos Medical Center and the doctors of the Philippine General Hospital for their care and professional judgment. I will continue to follow the medical advice of my doctors,” he said.

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

PGH Medical Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi said the hospital sent the results of its examination to the Sandiganbayan on Sunday.

Romualdez, the representative of Leyte’s first district, had been confined at Cardinal Santos after reportedly suffering a cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure and an anxiety attack.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government said Romualdez was placed under police custody at the hospital after officers served the arrest warrant and read him his rights.

DILG Secretary Jonvic Remulla said Romualdez would remain under police custody until doctors determined that he was fit to be transferred to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.

“We will check every day until he is well enough to be presented to court,” Remulla said.

He said authorities would follow the precedent involving former Department of Public Works and Highways Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who was allowed to remain hospitalized for several days while under police custody before being brought to court.

Armed police officers were deployed outside Romualdez’s hospital room and in the lobby. A Philippine National Police doctor was also tasked to coordinate with his attending physicians regarding his condition and possible transfer.

“We assure you that he cannot hide behind his wealth. No matter how wealthy he is, he cannot pay the law to allow him to sleep in a nice place,” Remulla said.

“We will bring him to Payatas at the proper time if the doctor says he is fit. This is not a permanent situation. His room in Payatas is waiting for him,” he added.

Remulla said authorities would ensure that Romualdez, a first cousin of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., would be treated like other persons facing arrest warrants.

The Sandiganbayan earlier stressed that Romualdez’s arrest warrant and hold departure order “remain in force and must be implemented” despite his hospitalization.

“If there are concerns regarding the accused’s medical condition, it is only the Court that can determine whether such condition affects the implementation of the warrant,” the court said.

The anti-graft court also clarified that the arrest warrant does not mean Romualdez has been found guilty.

“The issuance of a warrant of arrest signifies only that, after personally evaluating the records, the Court found probable cause to believe that the accused committed the offense charged,” it said.

Romualdez’s lawyers had sought permission for him to remain hospitalized. A medical certificate they submitted listed hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery disease, S/P PCI (post percutaneous coronary intervention), cerebrovascular ischemic disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and primary hyperthyroidism.

PHP7.4-billion plunder case

The Ombudsman filed the plunder case against Romualdez, fugitive former Ako Bicol Party-list congressman Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s household staff Joselyn Serenio and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corp. president Felicito Guevarra.

The case followed a seven-month investigation led by Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano.

The Ombudsman said it found “prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction” against Romualdez, Co and their co-accused.

“Para ito sa pagkamal ng humigit kumulang PHP7.4 billion mula sa mga komisyon, commitment, quota, suhol at iba pa, galing sa mga napangakuan ng mga proyekto ng pamahalaan mula 2022 hanggang2025 (This is for the accumulation of approximately PHP7.4 billion from commissions, commitments, quotas, bribes and others, from those promised government projects from 2022 to 2025),” the Office of the Ombudsman statement read.

The agency alleged that Romualdez exercised “uninterrupted control and meaningful participation over the national budget” as former House speaker and through his alleged friendship with Co.

Co was accused of having the “influence and power to include, allot funds and prioritize projects in the proposed budget.”

The allegations were supported in part by testimonies from former DPWH undersecretary Roberto Bernardo, former DPWH Bulacan district engineer Henry Alcantara and Co’s security aides. Bernardo and Alcantara became state witnesses in cases connected to the flood control scandal before the Sandiganbayan.

The Ombudsman also cited property titles, bank deposits, corporate shares and other documents.

It alleged that Romualdez received cash deliveries of PHP2 billion each on 15 occasions from Co’s staff between September 2022 and 2025, with Serenio allegedly receiving the money at various houses and properties owned by Romualdez.

The agency further alleged that PHP5 billion from the supposed collections was used to establish “shell or dummy companies, namely Golden Pheasant Holdings Corp., Braavos (sic) Holding OPC and Valiant Consolidated Resources Inc.”

The funds were also allegedly converted into foreign currencies through Guevarra’s money changer business, according to the Ombudsman.

The agency said the companies were later used to transfer or acquire properties, companies and other assets, including a property along Tamarind Road in Forbes Park reportedly worth PHP1.5 billion and a house along Narra Street in Forbes Park purchased by Romualdez’s family-owned business Trans Middle East.

The Ombudsman alleged that the scheme involved percentage-based commitments or quotas for infrastructure projects, kickbacks and repeated cash deliveries.

“Nagkamal siya ng ill-gotten wealth o nakaw na yaman sa pamamagitan ng serye o kombinasyon ng mga ilegal o kriminal na gawain. Naipakita ito sa pamamagitan ng kanilang isinagawang sistema ng percentage-based commitments o quota sa mga infrastructure projects, koleksyon ng balato, paulit-ulit na cash deliveries at pakikipagsabwatan ng bang mga tao (He accumulated ill-gotten wealth or stolen riches through a series or combination of illegal or criminal activities. This was demonstrated through their implemented system of percentage-based commitments or quotas in infrastructure projects, collection of kickbacks, repeated cash deliveries, and collusion with certain individuals),” the Ombudsman said.

Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said the plunder case was the first of several possible cases against the former speaker involving plunder, malversation and graft linked to alleged kickbacks and the flood control controversy.

He also said he was “not afraid of recantations” when asked about the withdrawal of testimony by former Co bodyguard Orly Guteza.

“The case is not weakened because there is so much money stolen that there isn’t a place to store them; it was used to purchase houses, which were not needed,” he stressed.

Remulla said some of the allegedly accumulated funds were also donated to an educational institution overseas.

He described Romualdez as a “big fish” and said additional charges could be filed against him.

Romualdez has also been subjected to a precautionary hold departure order, money laundering cases and freeze orders since April.

The Ombudsman said Romualdez had planned to leave the country in July for medical reasons despite the precautionary hold departure order.

Romualdez has repeatedly accused the Ombudsman of “prejudgment,” particularly over the agency’s description of him as the “mastermind” of the flood control scandal.