Palace: No Special Treatment for Romualdez in QC Jail

The Presidential Palace has stated that no special treatment will be allowed for former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, who is currently detained at the Quezon City Jail on allegations of plunder. A cousin of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., Romualdez was indicted with plunder after being accused of receiving around P7.44 billion in kickbacks from bogus flood control and infrastructure projects. After a lengthy petition for a hospital stay, Romualdez is now in an infirmary ward in the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory. “Kung ano po ang sinasapit ngayon ng mga ‘di umanong sangkot, iyan naman po ay walang dapat sinisinong. Mayaman, mahirap, ordinaryong tao, may kapangyarihan. Kung nakagawa man ng mali sa taumbayan, kailangan lang din pong pantay-pantay kung ano po ang naranasan ng mga akusado. So wala pong dapat na special treatment,” Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said in a press briefing on Tuesday. (Whatever the accused is facing right now, it really should not be selective. Rich, poor, ordinary people, the powerful. If a wrong was committed against the public, the accused should experience equal treatment. So there should be no special treatment.) However, Castro maintained that as long as the court has not issued a conviction, all suspects under the law are innocent until proven otherwise. Asked why Marcos’ planned visit to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Monday was cancelled, Castro said it was likely due to his schedule. She added the President had just arrived from his visit in India on the same day and had another engagement. Romualdez had been confined in the PGH after the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered an independent assessment of whether or not he needed to stay confined in the hospital. After PGH doctors said that the Leyte representative was fit to be detained, Romualdez was transferred to the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory on Monday night. —RF, GMA News