THE Ombudsman on Wednesday said it would oppose the bid of former speaker and incumbent Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez to be placed under hospital confinement while his P7.4 billion plunder case is being heard by the Sandiganbayan.
The Ombudsman made known its position as the Sandiganbayan is scheduled to hear on Thursday the manifestation and urgent motion filed by Romualdez asking the anti-graft court to allow him to remain at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center (CSMC) in San Juan City, following its issuance of an arrest warrant against him on Monday.
The arrest warrant was served by policemen on Romualdez on the same day at the CSMC where he has been confined owing to alleged various illnesses.
‘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 Jose Dominic Clavano IV 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,’ Clavano added.
In his manifestation and urgent motion, Romualdez claimed that he is suffering from several heart and brain circulatory diseases, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and hypothyroidism.
He also informed the Third Division that he previously underwent angioplasty surgery owing to coronary artery disease and has since required continuing monitoring and treatment.
He also claimed to have been previously confined where irregularities found in his magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan.
Court summons docs
THE Sandiganbayan has summoned Romualdez’s four attending physicians-Drs. Rody Sy, Rogelio Libarnes, Kurt Allen V. Sibayan, and Rosalio P. Torres-in Thursday’s hearing that would determine whether the his motion should be granted or denied.
Romualdez was also ordered to appear before the anti-graft court should his condition permit.
The arrest warrant stemmed from the complaint filed by the Ombudsman accusing Romualdez and several others of pocketing and receiving kickbacks amounting to P7.4 billion from infrastructure and flood control projects of the government.
The Ombudsman has also named former Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co of Ako Bicol, Romualdez’s personal aide Joselyn Tragua Serenio, and the president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation, Felicito Guevarra, as co-respondents in the plunder case.
The Sandiganbayan has also issued arrest orders against Co, Serenio and Guevarra.
Interior Secretary Juanito Victor Remulla meanwhile said the National Police’s Criminal Investigation and Detection Group will ask Sandiganbayan to transfer Romualdez from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City to the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame, Quezon City.
‘The PNP General Hospital is capable of attending to Romualdez’s medical condition. At the same time, arrangements may be made for his attending physicians to continue providing necessary care, subject to the approval of the court,’ Remulla said in a statement.
‘We will file a motion for custody of Martin Romualdez, for him to be brought to the Camp Crame Hospital. That motion will be filed later or tomorrow to make it clear that we are not allowing him to stay at Cardinal Santos. We can do it at Camp Crame,’ he said.
Remulla added that PNP medical personnel have coordinated with Romualdez’s attending physicians and were informed that his current cardiovascular condition makes him medically unstable to appear before the court or be transferred to a regular detention facility.
24/7 guard
PENDING further medical assessment and court action, Remulla assured that Romualdez will remain in government custody and guarded around the clock.
Meanwhile, Remulla said authorities are intensifying efforts to locate and arrest his co-accused, including former Party-list Rep. Rizaldy Co of Ako Bicol.
Remulla said the government is preparing another request for an International Police Organization Red Notice against Co following the filing of a P7.44-billion plunder case against him, Romualdez, Sereño and Guevarra.
Remulla is scheduled to travel to Lyon, France, to personally follow up with Interpol on efforts to locate and apprehend Co.
‘We will file the Red Notice for Zaldy Co again. Coincidentally, I’ll visit Lyon, France, to follow up the Interpol red notice,’ he explained.
Remulla said his brother, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla will go with him to France to coordinate through diplomatic channels on efforts to secure Co’s arrest and return to the Philippines.
‘I will work with Interpol; he will work on the diplomatic efforts para makuha si Co.’
Law enforcement authorities are continuing efforts to locate Sereño and Guevarra and serve their respective warrants of arrest.
The DILG assured that authorities will continue pursuing all available legal and law enforcement mechanisms, including international coordination when necessary, to ensure that those facing warrants are brought before the proper courts.
PNP to coordinate with counterparts
THE National Police (PNP) on Wednesday said that it will conduct more coordination with its international law enforcement partners to locate Co to ensure his return so that he can face the plunder charges filed against him.
‘The PNP is prepared to coordinate with French authorities through Interpol should former Congressman Zaldy Co be located abroad. We will provide full support to ensure that due process is observed and justice is pursued,’ the PNP Chief, Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, said in a statement.
‘If Co is arrested abroad, the process will follow international protocols through Interpol and diplomatic channels. The PNP will assist in the lawful transfer of custody once the court issues its directive,’ Nartatez added.
Malacañang defended the decision of authorities to allow Romualdez to remain at the CSMC saying it was based on the recommendation of the lawmaker’s doctor.
Palace Press Officer Claire Castro made the statement in response to criticisms that the DILG gave special treatment to Romualdez by allowing him to be confined in a medical facility.
She said they will give the benefit of the doubt on the decision of Romualdez’s physicians, who they consider neutral.
‘We cannot stop doctors from determining the health condition of an accused individual. Neither the PNP nor the DILG leadership can force the immediate transfer of an accused person whom doctors have certified as not yet fit to be discharged or removed from the hospital,’ Castro said in a press briefing Wednesday. With Rex Anthony Naval and Samuel Medenilla