Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez has asked the Sandiganbayan to keep him in hospital custody after he was arrested on plunder charges while already admitted at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan.
The request, filed late on September 7, 2026, turns a hospital room into the first public stage of one of the most closely watched cases in the flood-control scandal. Romualdez, the Leyte 1st District representative and first cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., is accused of amassing at least P7.4 billion in kickbacks, commissions, and other illicit payments tied to infrastructure projects funded under the national budgets from 2022 to 2025.
How the day unfolded
That morning, the Office of the Ombudsman formally lodged a plunder complaint against Romualdez, former Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Serenio, and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation president Felicito Cristobal Guevarra. Prosecutors said the four allegedly received commissions, shares, percentages, kickbacks, and “commitments” on at least 15 occasions. Investigators have separately cited a broader alleged scheme involving as much as P56 billion in diverted public funds.
Hours later, the Sandiganbayan Third Division issued arrest warrants. By mid-afternoon, Romualdez was already at Cardinal Santos. Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla said doctors described a cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure, and an anxiety attack. Remulla, PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez, and CIDG officers went to the hospital that evening and served the warrant in the room.
Officers read Romualdez his rights in the presence of counsel, took fingerprints, and draped an orange detainee shirt across his chest because he could not sit up to wear it. Remulla declared him a person deprived of liberty. Armed guards were posted outside the door; police were stationed in the lobby and around the hospital. Remulla said the former speaker looked pale and was connected to monitoring equipment.
What the court filing seeks
Romualdez’s lawyers submitted a nine-page Manifestation of Hospital Confinement and Urgent Motion ad Cautelam for Continued Hospital Confinement under Custody. They asked the Third Division to:
- Recognize that the warrant was validly served at the hospital
- Allow him to remain in continuous lawful custody at Cardinal Santos for as long as inpatient care is medically necessary
- Keep him there until attending physicians certify he is fit for transfer to a detention facility
The motion lists a cluster of existing conditions: hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, unstable angina, coronary artery disease (status post-PCI), cerebrovascular ischemic disease, Type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and primary hypothyroidism. Counsel argued that the monitoring and treatment he needs cannot safely be delivered in a regular jail hospital at this stage. They said any hospital stay would remain under court supervision and could be independently verified by a government or court-designated physician.
The Sandiganbayan has not yet ruled on the request. In a statement the same night, the Third Division said the arrest warrant and hold-departure order remain in force and that only the court can decide whether a medical condition changes how the warrant is implemented.
Officials push back on special treatment
Remulla compared the situation to former Public Works Secretary Manuel Bonoan, who also spent days in hospital after his own plunder arrest. He said authorities will check Romualdez’s condition every day until doctors clear him for court.
“This is not a permanent situation,” Remulla said. A PNP doctor would coordinate with the attending physicians. He added that a detention slot in Payatas was already waiting and that Romualdez “cannot hide behind his wealth.”
Romualdez’s lawyer, Ade Fajardo, said his client will face the allegations in court and is not asking for privilege—only the same due process given to any Filipino. Plunder is a non-bailable offense that can carry life imprisonment.
Why the case matters
Romualdez was House Speaker from July 2022 until September 17, 2025, when he resigned after his name surfaced in the widening flood-control probe. He remains a sitting congressman. As Speaker and close ally of the President, he had significant influence over the budget process that funded the disputed projects. The Ombudsman has described him as a central figure in the alleged scheme.
The arrest comes two months after President Marcos, in his 2026 State of the Nation Address, said he was “not the president of my family” and signaled that charges against Romualdez were forthcoming. Public anger over so-called ghost flood-control projects has been sharpened by continued monsoon flooding.
As of the morning of September 8, 2026, Romualdez remains under guarded hospital confinement at Cardinal Santos while the Sandiganbayan considers whether he may stay there until doctors say he is fit to be moved.