Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez remains physically unable to leave his hospital room to attend his scheduled hearing before the Sandiganbayan, the Philippine National Police (PNP) reported on Thursday.
The anti-graft tribunal had directed Romualdez, who is currently under police custody at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City, to appear in person on Thursday morning to present his motion seeking extended medical confinement.
“What I can confirm is a certification they (Cardinal Santos Medical Center) issued that the patient is medically unfit to travel outside the hospital as of now, to physically appear before the Sandiganbayan,” PNP spokesperson Col. Allen Rae Co said.
“That is the certification they issued… The only confirmation from us is they certified that he is medically unfit to travel,” Co emphasized.
Law enforcers served the arrest warrant on Romualdez inside his hospital room on Monday afternoon following an order from the Sandiganbayan over a plunder charge.
Romualdez was admitted to the facility last Thursday, approximately an hour prior to the release of the arrest warrant, after experiencing severe hypertension and other health issues.