The transfer of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan to a government hospital could serve as a “big risk” to his “unstable” health, the lawmaker’s lead physician warned.

Dr. Rosalio Torres, the lead attending physician of Romualdez, told the Sandiganbayan Third Division that a move to a different facility could be dangerous for his patient who he said had serious medical threats.

Torres, a hematologist at Cardinal Santos Medical Center, said that consulting specialists of the former speaker recommended that Romualdez would remain at their facility.

The cardiologist of the lawmaker, Dr. Rody Sy, expressed belief that it would be more beneficial if Romualdez had “continuity of care,” maintaining that he was the best fit to handle the case given his prior knowledge on the lawmaker’s medical conditions.

Sy said that there had been a decrease in the Metabolic Equivalent Tasks (MET) of Romualdez–a metric that measured the ability of a particular person to perform certain activities.

Aside from the lower MET score, the renowned cardiologist said that the lawmaker was suffering from severe stress leading to a high blood pressure and his chest pain.

When asked by Associate Justice Ronald Moreno if Romualdez’s plunder case impacted his well-being, Sy responded that it could be a “big factor.”

Further doubling down on his point, Moreno then questioned whether the court was to blame for the current medical condition.

“I’m not saying that sir,” the doctor answered.

Four to six week rest

With Romualdez’s commitment order to the New Quezon City Jail - Male Dormitory already being issued on Thursday, 10 September, the justice then sought to identify how long it would take before the lawmaker’s stress subsided.

To be safe, Sy said that the recommended recovery period was between four to six weeks–a plan that Moreno dismissed noting the public scrutiny that the court had already experienced with the case.

The cardiologist would later note that he believed that a government hospital with the required facilities could tend to the needs of Romualdez, while still maintaining that an immediate transfer could be considered as “professional recklessness.”

Even with his reservations, the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered for Romualdez to be independently examined at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital to resolve Romualdez’s pending motion for continued confinement.

The court deemed the step as necessary in order to verify the findings of the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.