Sandiganbayan permits Martin Romualdez to sign pre-trial order while detained in Payatas jail

The Sandiganbayan Third Division granted former Speaker and current Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez permission to sign the pre-trial order at the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas on Oct. 12, the same day he was to appear for his bail hearing. The anti-graft court had earlier ordered his appearance after the Office of the Ombudsman lodged a P7.4-billion plunder charge alleging his involvement in a kickback scheme tied to flood-control projects.

Romualdez was arrested, initially held at Cardinal Santos Medical Center, and transferred to the Payatas jail on Sep. 14, where he has remained detained. He entered a not-guilty plea in a Sep. 16 videoconference and filed a bail petition on Sep. 28, contending that the evidence—testimony from former DPWH officials Roberto Bernardo and Henry Alcantara, statements from security aides of co-accused Elizaldy Co, and financial links to Jose Paras—fails to establish his knowing participation or benefit. The petition also requested the court set a reasonable bail amount with appropriate sureties.