The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
By Tracy Cabrera
Former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez is expected to ask the Sandiganbayan for temporary liberty as his legal team prepares to file a petition for bail in his ₱7.4-billion plunder case.
Sources from Romualdez’s camp said his lawyers are preparing the petition and may submit it before the Sandiganbayan Third Division as early as this week.
The development comes as Romualdez remains detained at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas over allegations that he received kickbacks from government infrastructure projects.
As of Thursday, however, the anti-graft court had yet to receive the petition.
Third Division Clerk of Court Atty. Dennis Pulma confirmed that no bail petition had been filed before the court, despite the earlier announcement from Romualdez’s legal team that it intended to seek bail.
Romualdez, who attended his Sept. 16 arraignment through videoconference from the jail, pleaded not guilty to the plunder charge. He is accused of involvement in an alleged ₱7.4-billion kickback scheme involving government projects.
His bail bid will put the alleged strength of the prosecution’s evidence at issue, as the court will determine whether the evidence of guilt is strong enough to warrant continued detention pending trial.
Romualdez was taken into custody at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City after authorities served him with a warrant of arrest.
He had been hospitalized for several medical conditions before being transferred to the Philippine General Hospital for an independent medical examination.
The Sandiganbayan subsequently ordered his transfer to the Quezon City Jail after PGH Medical Director Dr. Gerardo Legaspi testified that Romualdez was “clinically stable” and no longer needed hospital confinement.
The court also denied Romualdez’s request to be transferred to another government hospital, citing the PGH assessment that his condition could be managed outside a hospital setting.
With the pre-trial proceedings now underway, the anticipated bail petition is set to become the next major legal move by Romualdez’s camp as he fights the plunder case in court.