Former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte 1st District Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez was arrested on Monday night, September 7, hours after the Sandiganbayan Third Division issued an arrest warrant against him and three other co accused.
Romualdez was confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, Philippines, when he was arrested after suffering a cardiovascular event and experiencing unstable blood pressure on Monday afternoon.
Because of his condition, he was not immediately brought to a police station and will remain at the hospital until he is medically cleared by his doctors.
Police served the warrant while the lawmaker was in his hospital bed.
A mugshot of Romualdez was then taken and released on September 8.
In the photo, Romualdez is seen lying on his hospital bed wearing a hospital gown, with an orange shirt draped over him. He was unable to fully put on the shirt because of his IV line.
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Court to decide on Romualdez’s motion for hospital confinement
The Sandiganbayan will decide whether his medical condition warrants continued hospital confinement.
The court has scheduled a hearing for September 10, when it is expected to hear from four of his doctors regarding his condition.
“Accused Romualdez is directed to appear before the court should his condition permit,” according to the court order.
“If there are concerns regarding the accused’s medical condition, it is only this court that can determine whether such condition affects the implementation of the warrant, the confinement of the accused at a hospital, or his commitment to a jail facility.”
Meanwhile, Romualdez’s lawyers have told the court that he has pre existing and ongoing medical conditions, including hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery disease, a history of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), cerebrovascular ischemic disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hypothyroidism.
Romualdez, cousin of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., has been charged with plunder in connection with alleged anomalies involving PHP 7.4 billion in flood control and other government projects.
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