Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez attended his arraignment hearing at the Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday, 16 September 2026, through videoconferencing, entering a not guilty plea for the crime of plunder.
Sandiganbayan Pool
The Sandiganbayan Third Division on Wednesday denied former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s bid to stop his transfer to the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas and instead remain confined at a government hospital.
During Romualdez’s arraignment, Third Division Chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda said the former Speaker’s lawyers had filed urgent motions for reconsideration seeking to halt his transfer and have him admitted to a tertiary government hospital in Quezon City.
The defense cited the Veterans Memorial Medical Center along North Avenue as one possible facility.
After hearing arguments from state prosecutors and the defense, the court denied the motions for lack of merit.
“There are many more PDLs that have a worse medical condition compared to Congressman Romualdez,” Miranda said, referring to persons deprived of liberty.
“We would like to emphasize that invocation of ill health is not sufficient for an accused’s continued confinement in the hospital,” he added.
On Monday, 14 September, University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital Medical Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi told the anti-graft court that Romualdez was “clinically stable” and no longer required continued hospital confinement.
Romualdez had previously been confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan, where he was diagnosed with several medical conditions, including unstable angina, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and sleep apnea.
Legaspi said the conditions could be managed through regular monitoring and medication on an outpatient basis.
‘Cooperate to get better’
Romualdez’s lawyer, Judd Roy, argued that the court had “overlooked” some of UP-PGH’s recommendations concerning his client’s medical needs.
Roy raised concerns over the reported absence of an electrocardiogram machine and a continuous positive airway pressure, or CPAP, machine at the detention facility.
Miranda said UP-PGH had indicated that Romualdez could be detained as long as he had “rapid access” to an ECG.
On the CPAP machine, Miranda noted that Romualdez had declined to use the device because of discomfort.
Citing his own experience using a CPAP machine for nearly 30 years, Miranda described its effects as “life-changing.”
“If Congressman Romualdez wants to get better, he needs to cooperate,” Miranda said.
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.
Romualdez, who represented Leyte’s 1st District, has been charged with plunder over allegations that he amassed P7.4 billion in ill-gotten wealth through kickbacks from infrastructure projects from 2022 to 2025.
He has denied the allegations and maintained that he is willing to face the charges in court.
Former lawmaker Zaldy Co and two private individuals were also charged in the case and remain at large, according to the complaint.
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