The camp of House Speaker Martin Romualdez has filed urgent motions and manifestations seeking his continued confinement in a hospital, following an arrest warrant issued by the Sandiganbayan in connection with a plunder case stemming from his tenure as a Leyte representative.
This legal maneuver comes after the anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan, issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of plunder, specifically citing alleged anomalies in flood control projects.
In a 12-page document submitted by his legal counsel, the anti-graft court was informed that the Leyte representative is currently confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City due to various health ailments.
His reported conditions include hypertension, Type 2 diabetes melitus, hyperthyroidism, and coronary artery disease, requiring close medical attention.
Doctors are closely monitoring his health, with his camp clarifying that these actions do not signify an attempt to evade arrest but rather a necessity for his medical well-being.
The Sandiganbayan Third Division is scheduled to conduct its own medical examination to verify Romualdez’s health status.
Earlier, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed that the warrant of arrest was served to Romualdez while he was already admitted to the hospital.
The official further stated that police personnel are stationed at the hospital, maintaining watch over Romualdez following the completion of necessary documentation related to the arrest warrant.
The plunder charges against Romualdez, a prominent figure in Philippine politics and currently the Speaker of the House, relate to alleged misuse of public funds intended for critical infrastructure projects, a type of corruption historically prevalent in the Philippines.