PGH says Romualdez 'clinically stable,' may be discharged anytime

The medical director of the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital said Monday that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez is clinically stable and may be discharged from the hospital at any time.

During a hearing before the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Romualdez’s motion for continued hospital confinement, Dr. Gerardo Legaspi said a team of doctors and specialists at UP-PGH verified earlier findings from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, where Romualdez had previously been confined.

Legaspi said the examinations included tests related to Romualdez’s cardiovascular condition after he was earlier diagnosed with unstable angina and considered at risk of a heart attack.

Tests conducted at UP-PGH, however, showed no indication of an impending heart attack. Legaspi also said Romualdez had a blood pressure reading of 130 over 80, which did not require inpatient hospital confinement.

For pulmonological and neurological concerns, Legaspi said Romualdez needs access to a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine because of reported sleep apnea, a condition that causes breathing interruptions during sleep.

Other conditions listed in the clinical abstract prepared by Cardinal Santos Medical Center, including diabetes and psychiatric concerns, could be managed on an outpatient basis, Legaspi said.

Romualdez was first admitted to Cardinal Santos Medical Center at around 4 p.m. on 7 September after complaining of chest pain.

On the same day, the Office of the Ombudsman charged him with plunder in connection with alleged infrastructure kickbacks from 2022 to 2025. An arrest warrant was later issued against him.

Romualdez was served the warrant while confined at the private hospital and remained there as his camp sought continued hospital confinement before the anti-graft court.

After hearings on the motion, the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered an independent medical examination at UP-PGH.

The court had earlier issued a commitment order directing Romualdez’s detention at the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory, where Senators Rodante Marcoleta and Jinggoy Estrada are also detained.

Former congressman Zaldy Co and two other private individuals were likewise charged over an alleged conspiracy to amass P7.4 billion in ill-gotten wealth. Co and the two others remain at large.

Romualdez has repeatedly denied the allegations and said he has been made a “scapegoat” in the government’s investigation into the multibillion-peso flood control scandal.