Romualdez staff ‘on call’ not ‘24/7’ at QC Jail — warden

The warden of the New Quezon City Jail – Male Dormitory clarified on Monday that the staff of former House Speaker Martin Romualdez was allowed by their office to visit the lawmaker on an “on-call” basis rather than around the clock.

The correction was made during the testimony of Jail Superintendent Maria Lourdes Pacion who took the witness stand in the ongoing hearings of the Sandiganbayan Third Division into the current status of Romualdez’s detainment.

Pacion previously testified that the lawmaker had a member of his staff staying with him at the facility since his initial transfer from the Philippine General Hospital last 14 September.

She pointed out that she had granted the request as a form of “human consideration” towards Romualdez who she claimed was not mentally stable.

It was likewise noted that their staff of 24 nurses, distributed across four shifts, were unable to tend to the medical needs of the former House Speaker.

Contrary to what was initially perceived by the court, Pacion stated that the aid was being treated as a visitor in the facility, being subjected to standard security checks prior to entry.

Pacion identified Romualdez’s staff as a certain “Arvin de Guzman,” someone that she noted was more of a helper for the former House Speaker.

De Guzman was supposedly allow to stay in the cell of Romualdez during the facility’s visiting hours, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

If not inside, the warden stated that the aid would stay outside the institution’s perimeter along the pedestrian lane along Payatas road.

Pacion likewise told the court that there was not necessarily an officer of the facility that was assigned to monitor what De Guzman and Romualdez were doing in the latter’s cell, only receiving a report from his personnel if there was an incident that took place.

Amid questions from the court regarding the validity of the arrangement, she maintained that she did not violate any rules of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in terms of Romualdez’s detainment.

CCTV recordings overwritten

Another particular matter that was addressed in the hearing was the CCTV system that was installed within the dormitory, given Pacion’s previous statement that the cameras were unable to record without interruptions due to a lack of a decoder.

Third Division chairperson Associate Justice Karl Miranda had tasked the warden to review the CCTV recordings, starting from the initial detainment of the lawmaker.

Pacion, however, said that she was unable to do so as some portions of the recording were reportedly “overwritten.”

In light of the concerns, Miranda announced that they would be conducting a site visit to the facility on the same day.

The justice stressed that he had gone to jails over two decades and it was the first time that he had encountered an instance where the prison allowed him to stay for the entire day.

De Guzman a long-time staff of Romualdez

In an interview after the hearing, Atty. Judd Roy confirmed that they had requested from the BJMP to allow De Guzman to accompany the lawmaker while in prison.

Roy said that the personal assistant had been a long-time staff of the former House Speaker was privy to the medical needs of the lawmaker.

“[De Guzman’s] been a long-time personal assistant of the Speaker, so he really knows the medicines and all of that, and of course the Speaker’s diet...that’s what’s logical for us for Speaker to be accompanied at that time,” he explained.

Faced with queries regarding the visiting hours of De Guzman, the lawyer said that it was likely possible that the aid was allowed to enter the facility past visiting hours since Romualdez’s medicine was round-the-clock.