MANILA, Philippines — Sept. 12, 2026 — The legal battle over where former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez should remain detained has taken a major turn after his own doctors told the Sandiganbayan that no surgery or invasive procedure is currently scheduled — even as they warned that moving him could carry serious medical risks.
The Sandiganbayan Third Division has now ordered Romualdez transferred from Cardinal Santos Medical Center to the University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) for an independent medical examination, a development that goes beyond the original Panay News report and could determine whether he continues to stay in a hospital or is eventually moved to a regular detention facility.
Romualdez is facing a ₱7.4-billion plunder case arising from an alleged kickback scheme linked to government flood-control and infrastructure projects. He has denied wrongdoing and remains presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Doctors: No operation planned, but that does not mean he is out of danger
During the Sandiganbayan hearing, Dr. Rosalio Torres, who coordinates Romualdez’s medical team at Cardinal Santos, acknowledged that the former speaker currently has no scheduled surgery or invasive medical procedure.
But Torres rejected the suggestion that this meant Romualdez no longer needed hospital-level care.
He told the court that assessments from the lawmaker’s cardiologist, neurologist and other specialists continued to indicate medical concerns.
Cardiologist Dr. Rody Sy gave the court an even stronger warning.
Sy testified that Romualdez’s blood pressure rose to around 170/110 on Sept. 10 and said his medication had to be adjusted. He recommended that Romualdez remain where he was for roughly four to six weeks before being transferred, arguing that moving him immediately could be medically risky.
Sy also told the court that if Romualdez suffered an acute heart attack, he would need access to a hospital with angiographic facilities within about an hour.
That testimony created the central question now confronting the anti-graft court:
Are Romualdez’s medical conditions serious enough to require prolonged hospital detention — or can they be safely managed elsewhere?
Sandiganbayan wants an independent answer
Rather than relying solely on the medical team selected by Romualdez, the Sandiganbayan ordered an independent evaluation at UP-PGH.
The court directed the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, assisted by police and judiciary marshals, to transport him by properly equipped ambulance for the examination scheduled for Sept. 12.
PGH doctors were instructed to conduct their assessment without the direct or indirect participation of Romualdez’s Cardinal Santos physicians, submit their findings to the court and address whether continued hospitalization is medically necessary.
Romualdez is to remain at PGH until the court issues another order.
The court has asked the PGH medical team to submit its report by Sept. 13 and testify about its findings on Sept. 14. His arraignment has separately been moved to Sept. 16, according to NewsWatch Plus.
That means the next medical findings could directly influence whether Romualdez stays in a hospital setting or is eventually physically transferred to the jail facility designated by the court.
Why the court appears determined to get outside medical evidence
Questions surrounding Romualdez’s original admission at Cardinal Santos surfaced during testimony from Dr. Kurt Allen Sibayan, the physician listed as his admitting doctor.
Sibayan initially told the court that the circumstances of the admission were unusual and that he had not personally examined Romualdez before preparing medical documentation.
He later clarified that Romualdez’s attending physicians were already managing the case, which he said made a separate examination by him unnecessary.
Another point raised in court concerned Romualdez’s clinical abstract.
According to testimony reported by The Philippine Star and Panay News, the document was prepared around the period of his Sept. 7 admission, even though such abstracts are often produced upon discharge. Sibayan said the information was verified by members of Romualdez’s attending medical team.
These circumstances do not establish that the medical conditions were fabricated.
Romualdez’s lawyers strongly maintain that his health problems are genuine and documented.
His spokesman, Ade Fajardo, has pointed to the former speaker’s history of heart problems, previous medical procedures and reported neurological issues, insisting that the defense’s concern is about his safety rather than an attempt to escape detention.
Romualdez’s reported health problems are extensive
Court filings cited by GMA News list several conditions, including hypertensive cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery disease, cerebrovascular ischemic disease, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia and hypothyroidism.
His medical team has also raised concerns over cardiovascular instability and stress.
A psychiatrist who testified before the court said Romualdez had been diagnosed with a depressive disorder with anxiety and was receiving medication and related treatment.
The key issue for the Sandiganbayan, however, is not simply whether Romualdez has medical conditions.
It is whether those conditions require continued inpatient hospital confinement rather than treatment available under another custodial arrangement.
The government has pushed back against continued private-hospital detention
The Office of the Ombudsman opposed Romualdez’s request to remain at Cardinal Santos and called for government doctors to independently assess him.
Assistant Ombudsman Mico Clavano previously said prosecutors would argue for his transfer to a regular detention facility if his illnesses could safely be managed outside a private hospital.
The Department of the Interior and Local Government had also sought his transfer to the PNP General Hospital, where police said a room had been prepared.
The Sandiganbayan ultimately selected PGH for the independent assessment instead.
Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla has publicly argued that defendants should not receive different treatment because of wealth or political status.
The court itself echoed that principle.
Third Division chair Associate Justice Karl Miranda said hospitalization must be based on medical necessity and that the court must avoid any impression that special treatment is being extended because of a defendant’s status, wealth or influence.
Romualdez is already under BJMP custody
Even while the hospital issue remained unresolved, the Sandiganbayan had already issued a commitment order placing Romualdez under Bureau of Jail Management and Penology custody.
The designated detention facility is the New Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas.
But the commitment order did not immediately mean physically removing him from the hospital because the court was still examining whether his health justified continued medical confinement.
The PGH evaluation is therefore crucial: it separates the question of legal custody from the question of where that custody should physically take place.
What is the ₱7.4-billion case about?
The Office of the Ombudsman has charged Romualdez and three other defendants in connection with an alleged scheme involving commissions, kickbacks or other financial benefits tied to government-funded projects.
The other accused include former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s former aide Joselyn Tragua Serenio, and Felicito Cristobal Guevarra, president of Samchan Foreign Exchange Corp.
Prosecutors allege Romualdez and Co received at least ₱7.44 billion in benefits on approximately 15 occasions involving contractors or entities with interests in flood-control, infrastructure and other government projects from 2022 through 2025.
Those remain prosecution allegations.
The issuance of an arrest warrant means the court found sufficient probable cause for the case to proceed; it is not a finding that Romualdez is guilty.
Romualdez has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and said through his legal team that he intends to answer the charges in court.
From Cardinal Santos to PGH: Why this is the real turning point
The absence of an upcoming surgery sounds damaging to Romualdez’s request when viewed in isolation.
But medically, surgery is not the only reason a person may require hospital admission. Cardiovascular instability, neurological risks or the potential need for rapid emergency intervention could also justify inpatient monitoring.
That is exactly why the Sandiganbayan has avoided making the decision solely on competing statements from prosecutors and private physicians.
Instead, it is turning to PGH.
And that could make the independent government-hospital assessment — not the absence of surgery — the decisive evidence.
If PGH concludes Romualdez needs continuing inpatient care, hospital detention could remain medically defensible.
If it finds his conditions can safely be managed in a detention setting, pressure for his transfer to jail will become much stronger.
Either way, the next few days could determine not only where one of the Philippines’ most powerful former congressional leaders will be held, but also how courts handle politically sensitive claims of illness when a high-profile defendant is facing detention.
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