DILG chief: ‘We won’t allow’ Romualdez to stay at private hospital

Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla addresses members of the media regarding the arrest of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez during a press briefing at Camp Crame in Quezon City on Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. —Inquirer photo/Grig C. Montegrande MANILA, Philippines — Secretary Jonvic Remulla of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said the agency would ask the Sandiganbayan to have former Speaker Martin Romualdez transferred, as a person under arrest, from a private hospital to the police medical facility inside Camp Crame. Remulla announced the plan as the antigraft court ordered Romualdez to appear on Thursday regarding his motion seeking continued hospital confinement following his arrest for plunder on Monday night. The Leyte congressman, a cousin of President Marcos, was served an arrest warrant and underwent police booking procedures at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he had been admitted for anxiety attacks and what Remulla called a “cardiovascular event” hours before the warrant came out. Article continues after this advertisement READ: Romualdez ordered to appear in Sandiganbayan on Sept. 10 A motion to have the lawmaker moved to the Philippine National Police General Hospital at Camp Crame, Quezon City, will be filed on Wednesday “just to show you that we won’t allow him to stay at Cardinal Santos,’’ Remulla said. “We can monitor his condition at Crame, but it’s up to the discretion of the court if he’ll be allowed to be moved to Crame,” he added. “We will give his doctors visitation and practicing rights so they can go to Camp Crame.” Romualdez, former Ako Bicol Rep. Elizaldy Co and two others were charged with plunder, a nonbailable offense, before the Sandiganbayan over allegations they received more than P7 billion in kickbacks from government projects between 2022 and 2025. Based on charges prepared by the Office of the Ombudsman, Romualdez and Co were accused of “repeatedly receiving, directly or indirectly, on at least fifteen (15) occasions, commissions, shares, percentages, kickbacks, ‘commitments’ and/or other pecuniary benefits” worth at least P7.44 billion. Article continues after this advertisement The amount allegedly came from contractors, persons and entities with interests in flood control, infrastructure and/or other government projects that were funded under the General Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2022 to 2025. The P7.44 billion, according to the case, was “specifically traced and laundered [by] setting up and/or using shell or dummy corporations and conduits.” Article continues after this advertisement Respecting legal process Aside from Romualdez and Co, also named in the charge sheet were a member of the former Speaker’s staff, Jocelyn Sereño, and a certain Felicito Guevarra, the president of a money changer corporation. In a statement on Monday, Romualdez’s lawyer and spokesperson Ade Fajardo said his client respects the courts and legal process and will face the charges. “We recognize the public interest surrounding this case. But ultimately, criminal liability must be determined by the evidence presented in court, under the rules and safeguards of our justice system,” Fajardo said. He said Romualdez was not asking for special treatment but “asks only for the same due process and fair hearing guaranteed to every Filipino.” Custody The Sandiganbayan Third Division, in its order on Tuesday, stressed that the court now has custody of Romualdez. “If there are concerns regarding the accused’s medical condition, it is only this court that can determine whether such condition affects the implementation of the warrant, the confinement of the accused at a hospital, or his commitment to a jail facility,” the court said. It also issued a subpoena to Romualdez’s doctors Rody Sy, Rogelio Libarres, Kurt Allen Sibayan and Rosalio Torres, ordering their appearance on Thursday. According to his motion requesting continued hospital stay, Romualdez is suffering from Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, primary hypothyroidism and other illnesses. According to Remulla, Romualdez suffered a stroke and a transient ischemic attack, or the temporary blockage of blood to a part of the brain, in July. “It wasn’t that serious. From what I saw, he had no deficiency, but he suffered a cerebrovascular event,” he said. Regarding security arrangements, Remulla said “We have two armed guards stationed outside his room 24/7. We also have armed guards in the lobby, and a mobile patrol unit waiting outside the hospital.” Remulla described Romualdez as a “flight risk,” noting that he has “two private jets… three helicopters … and three yachts.” The DILG on Tuesday also released Romualdez’s official mug shot taken during the booking procedure. The photo, flashed on screen during a press briefing in Camp Crame, shows Romualdez in a hospital bed with an orange PNP detainee shirt placed on top of his medical gown. No instruction The PNP earlier explained that Romualdez could not be made to stand up for the photo or wear the orange shirt due to the medical implements attached to his body. Remulla maintained he had not received any instruction from President Marcos on how to treat the former House leader. “The President has no male sibling, so Romualdez is his closest cousin. If you think this was easy for him, it wasn’t,” Remulla said. “If you’re asking whether there were instructions on how to treat him, there was none. Zero.” Remulla also told reporters that he and Romualdez briefly spoke during the serving of the warrant, noting that they were fraternity brothers at the University of the Philippines. “He had no requests… I told him, ‘Brother, I hope you understand why I am doing this. It’s nothing personal.’ And he said, ‘It’s okay, I understand.’ That was the entire length of our conversation,” he said. Reacting to criticism over Romualdez happening to be at a hospital just hours before the warrant was released, the interior secretary said: “That’s the hard part. We do not have the right to intercept (an accused) before the warrant of arrest is issued by the court.” Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful. “They (the accused and his lawyers) knew the charges were filed. They knew the case was raffled, so they got ahead of it. In this case, actually, it’s only with Speaker Martin that that’s happened … I don’t believe in coincidences, so we take it at that,” he said. /cb