Court told: Romualdez confinement ‘unusual,’ not ‘emergency’

The doctor that admitted former House Speaker Martin Romualdez to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center said Thursday that the confinement of the lawmaker in their facility was far from their “usual” practice when it came to admissions.

Dr. Kurt Allen Sibayan, the physician listed as the person that prepared Romualdez’s admitting order, explained to the Sandiganbayan Third Division that he was not able to personally see his patient prior to preparing the document.

When asked about where the contents of his medical abstract came from, Sibayan answered that the diagnosis was provided to him by cardiologist Dr. Rody Sy–the doctor that first attended to the House Speaker.

In the order that was included in the urgent motion and manifestation of the defense, the lawmaker was said to be suffering from hypertension, hyperthyroidism, type two diabetes, and coronary artery disease just to name a few.

Sibayan said that Romualdez first arrived at Cardinal Santos Medical Center around 4:00 p.m. on Monday, 7 September, complaining about pain in his chest.

Rather than going through the emergency room, the lawmaker was said to have been directly admitted to his room.

Despite being the individual that was indicated as the attending physician, Sibayan mentioned that Dr. Rosalio Torres told him that he was not allowed to enter the room where Romualdez was confined.

Overall coordinator

Torres, who took the witness stand right after Sibayan, said that he had arranged Romualdez’s confinement as he was the overall coordinator when it came to monitoring the latter’s medical condition.

He stated that the camp of the lawmaker had called him between 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. on Monday, seeking his advice on the best step that could be taken for the “chest discomfort” that Romualdez was experiencing.

Referencing their findings from the previous check up that they had with Romualdez last July, Torres said that he had recommended for his patient to be confined for further assessment.

Given that Torres merely specialized in the field of hematology, he explained that he had gathered a team of doctors to conduct various tests on the former Speaker.

While most tests were “considered within normal,” he said that there were issues when it came to Romualdez’s cardiovascular and mental health.

Noting the issues, the court’s chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda questioned Torres on whether Romualdez required medical treatment. The doctor said that what was only needed was “active monitoring.”

After Miranda raised a potential transfer of Romualdez to a different facility with similar equipment, Torres raised concern over the supposed “time element” when it came to his patient as there were supposed signs that the lawmaker could have a heart attack.

Conflicting statements

As the topic shifted back to the process of the admission, Justice Moreno confronted Torres with the statements of Sibayan as the two doctors told different stories.

Torres, whom Sibayan said had prevented him from entering Romualdez’s room, stated that he had only arrived at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center at 9:30 p.m. as he had a convention that he attended.

Another narrative that Moreno flagged was concerning who the initial doctor that saw Romualdes. Torres said that it was Sibayan that first attended to Romualdez, despite the latter previously stating that it was Sy.

Even with the conflicting statements, Torres noted that it was the recommendation of Sy that was followed to admit and confine Romualdez at the institution.

A particular condition that the overall coordinator pointed to as one of the primary conditions was the finding that Romualdez had an unstable angina, Torres told the court that a finding meant that there was an “impending heart attack.”

Moreno, however, argued that any person had a chance of having a heart attack at any given time.

Hearing suspended

The court and parties examination of the four doctors initially contained in the subpoena was suspended after more than two hours as state prosecutors sought for more time to properly prepare their questions.

Given the lack of a resolution on the motions of the defense for the continued confinement of Romualdez, he will remain confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

During the hearing, Justice Miranda announced that he had signed a commitment order to have Romualdez detained at the Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory, officially transferring his custody to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology.