ROMUALDEZ SERVED ARREST WARRANT AT HOSPITAL

FORMER House of Representatives Speaker and Leyte 1st district Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez on Monday night was served his arrest warrant for plunder while confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City.

Romualdez was rushed to the Cardinal Santos Medical Center after having a  cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure and anxiety attack,” Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Jonvic Remulla said.

“He is here, as according to the doctors he is suffering from a cardiovascular event, his blood pressure is unstable, and he is having an anxiety attack,” Remulla told reporters.

The Office of the Ombudsman filed a P7.4-billion plunder case against the former House Speaker and co-respondents ousted Ako Bicol Party-list congressman Zaldy Co, personal aide Joselyn Serenio, and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corp. president Felicito Guevarra.

Philippine National Police chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group Director Maj. Gen. Robert Alexander Morico II  accompanied Remulla  in serving the arrest warrant  to Romualdez.

The warrant of arrest was issued by the Sandiganbayan.

According to the Ombudsman,  it found “prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction” to file plunder charges against Romualdez, the fugitive Co and their co-accused.

The Ombudsman said Romualdez had “uninterrupted control and meaningful participation over the national budget,” while Co allegedly had influence over the inclusion, funding and prioritization of projects.

The DILG chief said Romualdez would be transferred to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) once doctors determine that he is already in a stable condition.

Remulla added that the hospital confinement is only temporary and Romualdez will not receive special treatment, even if he is the first cousin of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.

Meanwhile, security was tightened overnight at Cardinal Santos Medical Center where the former House Speaker  is currently confined.