‘Cardiovascular event’ puts Romualdez in hospital as detention awaits

National

A 'CARDIOVASCULAR event' and a purported panic attack landed former House Speaker Martin Romualdez in the hospital on Monday, Sept. 7, just as authorities moved to enforce a court order placing him under government custody, Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

Romualdez was confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City at around 4 p.m. Monday, Remulla said in an interview with reporters that evening.

According to his doctors, Romualdez suffered a cardiovascular event, with his blood pressure becoming unstable while he was also experiencing an anxiety attack.

“According to the doctors, he’s suffered from a cardiovascular event. His blood pressure was unstable and he was having an anxiety attack,” Remulla said in an Inquirer report.

Doctors from the Philippine National Police were at the hospital to determine Romualdez’s condition in coordination with his attending physicians, Remulla said.

The hospitalization came on the same day the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered that Romualdez, the Leyte 1st District representative, be taken into government custody.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed charges against Romualdez before the Sandiganbayan on Monday, accusing him of allegedly receiving P7.44 billion in kickbacks from flood control, infrastructure and other government projects from 2022 to 2025.

Remulla said authorities would monitor Romualdez’s condition daily and wait until he was medically fit to be presented before the court.

He also maintained that Romualdez’s wealth would not allow him to avoid the court-ordered detention, stressing that his stay at the hospital would not be permanent.

Romualdez is expected to be detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas, where other personalities allegedly involved in the infrastructure corruption scandal have been jailed.

Remulla said Romualdez’s detention facility was ready to receive him once the court orders his commitment.(MyTVCebu)