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The Philippine National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said it has prepared a room for former House Speaker and Leyte 1st Dist. Rep. Martin Romualdez in case he is allowed to remain under hospital detention following his arrest on plunder charges.
“We have already undertaken the necessary preparations for the possible transfer. We requested that he be transferred to the PNP General Hospital, so we have already made the initial preparations,” PCol. Allen Rae Co said.
“A room has already been prepared for him,” he added..
Co said PNP doctors are also coordinating with the management of Cardinal Santos Medical Center for an independent health assessment of Romualdez.
“[This is] for us to be able to assess if the former Speaker [is] physically fit to face the Sandiganbayan,” Co said.
Romualdez was arrested Monday at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, the same day the Office of the Ombudsman filed a P7.4-billion plunder charge against him and three others over their alleged involvement in a kickback scheme involving flood control projects.
Police have since secured Romualdez at the hospital, where he was taken Monday afternoon after suffering “a cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure, and an anxiety attack,” Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano said the Office of the Ombudsman would “strongly oppose” Romualdez’s motion for hospital detention.
“The prosecutors will strongly oppose the motion. In fact, the prosecutors will ask that not just one doctor but a team of government doctors assess whether or not the illnesses declared need confinement or can be managed outside of the hospital,” Clavano said.
“If his illnesses can be managed from outside of the hospital, the prosecutors will move that he be immediately transferred to the regular detention facility as all other accused in non-bailable cases,” he added.— MCG, GMA News
