Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez Transferred to State Hospital Amid Health Concerns

Former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez is set to be transferred from a hospital in San Juan City to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila on Saturday. Ambulances and transport vehicles of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) arrived at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City before 7 a.m., according to GMA News reporter Gabriel Gonzales. The Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered the PGH on Friday to examine Romualdez and verify the findings of his doctors from Cardinal Santos Medical Center, where he has been confined since Monday. Romualdez will be transferred and confined in state-run PGH starting Saturday, September 12, until further orders from the court. Meanwhile, at PGH, members of the Manila Police District - Mobile Force Battalion are already on standby for the arrival of the former speaker on Saturday morning, according to a report by Pamela Adriano on Super Radyo dzBB. Transfer via ambulance The anti-graft court also said Romualdez’s transfer to PGH should be via an ambulance equipped to treat his heart, brain, and other ailments. “Accordingly, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), with the assistance of the PNP and the Office of the Judiciary Marshals, is ordered to coordinate with and bring accused Romualdez to UP-PGH, using an ambulance with the required medical equipment, for the conduct of his medical examination on Saturday, September 12, 2026 at 10:00 in the morning,” the order read. It also directed the director of PGH to report the results on Monday, September 14 at 8:30 a.m. Romualdez's cardiologist Dr. Rody Sy said the lawmaker would need four to six weeks to recover from his ailments due to stress. Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Ronald Moreno however scored Thursday the four-to-six week recovery plan. “Minumura na kami ng tao rito (The public has been cursing us here),” Moreno said during Day 2 of the hearing on Romualdez’s motion for hospital detention. Romualdez was also diagnosed with depressive disorder with anxiety, his psychiatrist Dr. Lourdes Ignacio said Friday. The former House speaker and three others are facing a P7.4-billion plunder charge over alleged links to flood control scam. The Office of the Ombudsman filed charges with the Sandiganbayan on Monday noontime. The warrant of arrest was served on the former speaker on Monday at Cardinal Santos Medical Center on Monday night. The Sandiganbayan ordered on Thursday the transfer of custody of Romualdez from the Philippine National Police to the BJMP. Sandiganbayan Third Division chairperson Karl Miranda made the announcement after the anti-graft court issued a commitment order for Romualdez to be detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, a facility which is under BJMP's jurisdiction. —KG, GMA News