Romualdez transferred to jail after doctors clear him for hospital discharge

National

FROM a hospital bed to a jail cell: Former House speaker Martin Romualdez was transferred to the New Quezon City Jail on Monday night, Sept. 14, after government doctors found he no longer needed hospital care, two days before his scheduled arraignment on a P7.44-billion plunder case.

Romualdez was brought to the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory in Payatas at 10:09 p.m. Monday following an order from the Sandiganbayan Third Division, which found no medical basis for continued hospital confinement.

The anti-graft court had ordered his transfer after doctors from the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) testified that he was clinically stable and no longer required inpatient treatment at an acute care hospital.

According to a Philstar report, PGH Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi told the court that Romualdez was “clinically stable” and unlikely to suffer an emergency medical condition if discharged from hospital confinement.

The PGH medical team also determined that unstable angina was “not demonstrated” during its evaluation and found no acute cerebrovascular event, despite earlier diagnoses cited by Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

Doctors confirmed that Romualdez has chronic coronary artery disease and chronic cerebrovascular disease, but said neither condition currently required inpatient management.

They also reported that Romualdez had a normal response to a stress test and estimated that his annual risk of suffering a heart attack over the next decade was about 3%.

Dr. Henry Fabro, chief medical officer of the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory, assured the court that the facility could attend to Romualdez’s medical needs while he remains in detention.

Fabro said Romualdez could regularly use his CPAP machine, take his prescribed medication and consult his private doctors inside the jail. In case of an emergency, he could also be brought to a nearby hospital.

The Sandiganbayan has set Romualdez’s arraignment and pre-trial proceedings for 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, September 16, according to a resolution released Monday.

During the arraignment, Romualdez will be asked to enter a plea to the plunder charge.

Romualdez had sought continued confinement at Cardinal Santos Medical Center following his September 7 arrest.

The Sandiganbayan instead ordered him transferred to PGH on September 11 for an independent medical examination, which led to the assessment that he no longer required hospital-level care.

Romualdez faces a P7.44-billion plunder case over allegations of kickbacks from contractors and other parties with interests in flood-control, infrastructure and other government projects.(MyTVCebu)