Martin aide allowed on-call jail visits
The warden of the New Quezon City Jail–Male Dormitory clarified Monday that former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s staff member was allowed to visit him on an “on-call” basis, not stay with him around the clock.
Jail Superintendent Maria Lourdes Pacion made the clarification while testifying before the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which is conducting hearings on the conditions of Romualdez’s detention.
Pacion had earlier testified that a member of Romualdez’s staff had been staying with him since his transfer from the Philippine General Hospital on 14 September.
She said she approved the arrangement out of “human consideration,” claiming that Romualdez was not mentally stable and needed assistance with his medical needs.
Pacion also pointed out that the facility’s 24 nurses, who work in four shifts, could not adequately attend to the former House Speaker’s needs.
She clarified that the staff member was treated as a regular visitor and subjected to standard security checks before entering the facility.
Pacion identified the aide as Arvin de Guzman, whom she described as more of a personal helper to Romualdez.
De Guzman was supposedly allowed to stay inside Romualdez’s cell during regular visiting hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Outside those hours, he would wait along the pedestrian lane outside the facility’s perimeter on Payatas Road.
Pacion also told the court that no jail officer was specifically assigned to monitor the two inside the cell. She said she relied on reports from her personnel if any incident occurred.
Despite questions from the court about the arrangement, Pacion maintained that she had not violated any Bureau of Jail Management and Penology rules governing Romualdez’s detention.
CCTV recordings overwritten
The hearing also tackled the dormitory’s CCTV system after Pacion previously said the cameras could not record continuously because the facility lacked a decoder.
Third Division chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda had directed Pacion to review the recordings dating back to Romualdez’s initial detention.
However, Pacion said she could not comply because portions of the footage had reportedly been overwritten.
In response, Miranda announced that the court would conduct a site inspection of the facility later that day.