The Office of the Ombudsman announced Wednesday, September 9, that its prosecutors will contest the motion filed by former House Speaker and current Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez seeking continued confinement at Cardinal Santos Medical Center following the issuance of his arrest warrant on plunder charges.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano confirmed that the prosecution team intends to actively block the former lawmaker’s petition.
“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,” Assistant Ombudsman Mico 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.
The state prosecution’s challenge comes right ahead of a scheduled hearing on Thursday, September 10, before the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which has called four of Romualdez’s attending physicians to deliver testimony regarding his medical condition.
The anti-graft court had directed the medical professionals from Cardinal Santos Medical Center to present themselves on Tuesday, September 8, while ordering Romualdez and his medical team to produce the full results of his recent medical examinations.
The court emphasized that it will evaluate whether his current health condition warrants remaining in a medical facility or being moved to a standard detention unit.
Romualdez submitted a formal plea on Monday, September 7, urging the court to permit his continued stay at the medical facility where he is currently undergoing treatment for various health complications.
The underlying arrest warrant was issued after the Sandiganbayan established probable cause against Romualdez and three co-defendants in connection with an alleged ₱7.4-billion plunder scheme involving public infrastructure and flood control project irregularities.