Former House Speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez is currently held in the infirmary of the Quezon City Jail alongside three other inmates, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla confirmed on Tuesday, September 15.
Romualdez was transferred to the detention facility on Monday following an order from the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which authorized his move from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH).
While government doctors declared him fit for jail confinement, they specified that he still requires continuous medical monitoring.
Remulla assured the public that the former lawmaker is receiving no preferential treatment.
“It is smaller, I think it’s 50 square meters. From what I saw yesterday, there’s no air condition, with a common bathroom and exhaust,” Remulla said.
The Interior Secretary clarified that keeping Romualdez in the infirmary aligns directly with the medical advice of PGH physicians. Any future transfer to a regular cell block will depend entirely on the clearance of his attending doctors.
His prescribed care includes weekly electrocardiogram (EKG) tests and the use of a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine for sleep apnea.
“There’s also a hospital bed just in case there would be an emergency. These are the recommendations of the Sandiganbayan and the PGH that we are following,” Remulla said.
Romualdez was arrested in connection with a ₱7.4-billion plunder suit after law enforcers served a court warrant at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, where he had initially sought treatment.
Pushing back against online skepticism accusing the former official of faking his illness to avoid jail, Remulla clarified that the health evaluation came entirely from independent medical experts.
“He is really sick. I am not a doctor, I am not qualified to give a medical opinion but the doctors from PGH said he needs medical supervision,” Remulla said.
“So that’s not drama. That statement (that Romualdez) is facing medical issues did not come from us, it came from the PGH,” he stressed.