Romualdez joins list of officials who cite illness to delay custody

Hours before his arrest on September 7, Leyte 1st District Representative and former House speaker Martin Romualdez was confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City. 

This is not the first time that a high-profile official has cited medical conditions to justify hospitalization. While some, like Romualdez, reported illness before they were detained, others experienced them during detention.

In the last two decades, at least eight government officials who were charged with various offenses mentioned a variety of health issues affecting the eyes, ears, heart, spine, knees, and even the neck. Who are they?

Martin Romualdez

Romualdez is the latest high-profile individual to be arrested. He was charged with plunder for allegedly receiving approximately P7.44 billion in kickbacks related to flood control projects.

The Ombudsman considered President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s cousin as one of the “central figures” in the massive corruption scheme.

He is currently confined after experiencing a “cardiovascular event, unstable blood pressure, and anxiety attacks,” according to Department of the Interior and Local Government Secretary Jonvic Remulla.

Manuel Bonoan

Former Department of Public Works and Highways secretary Manuel Bonoan was also arrested on June 1 after being charged with plunder and graft for his involvement in the flood control scandal. He was immediately brought to the Philippine National Police General Hospital (PNPGH) due to hypertension.

On June 5, he was put under hospital arrest by the Sandiganbayan 5th Division when his personal physician issued a medical certificate stating that Bonoan is suffering from:

• Chronic Renal Disease (stage 4)
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Gouty arthritis
• Spondylolisthesis (spinal ailment)
• Dyslipidemia (abnormal amount of lipids)
• Prostate cancer

The Sandiganbayan dropped the charges against him on September 2 after the Ombudsman listed him as its latest state witness. A day later, he regained temporary freedom after being released.

Rodante Marcoleta

Senator Rodante Marcoleta was also arrested on July 6 for plunder over his undeclared P75 million campaign donations.

On the same day of his arrest, he complained of chest pain. Marcoleta was confined at the PNPGH in Camp Crame and placed under medical observation due to hypertension and other health issues.

Days later, on July 15, the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered Marcoleta to be transferred to the Quezon City Jail Male Dormitory. Doctors also said that the senator’s condition improved and does not need hospitalization.

Jinggoy Estrada

Senator Jinggoy Estrada was also arrested on June 1 for his third plunder case. He cited different medical conditions each time.

His latest arrest was due to the flood control scandal, a widespread corruption scheme involving substandard or non-existent government projects, kickbacks, and budget insertions. Jinggoy voluntarily surrendered after his press conference in the Senate on June 1.

On August 26, the senator was hospitalized at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center after an alleged knee injury from walking.

Before his arrest, Remulla said that Jinggoy was suffering from a knee ailment. The senator’s lawyer, however, said he is suffering from osteoarthritis, a condition in the joints.

Jinggoy already complained of knee problems while under detention in 2017, for which the court allowed him to undergo an X-ray and MRI tests.

In 2014, Jinggoy was arrested for plunder and 11 counts of graft due to his involvement in the pork barrel scam, which involved the misuse of public development funds through fake projects and kickbacks. At the time, he complained of recurring shoulder pain, later diagnosed as “frozen shoulder” also at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center.

A year later, he went for a check-up in the same hospital, this time after experiencing light-headedness and acid reflux.

In 2002, he filed another motion to undergo medical treatment because of rectal bleeding.

He was also charged in 2001 for conspiring with his father, then-president Joseph “Erap” Estrada, to gain wealth through the numbers game jueteng. In the same year, he experienced an infraction of the heart due to “psychological stress.”

He was confined twice in Makati because of the condition.

Joseph “Erap” Estrada

On April 25, 2001, the former president was arrested for plunder charges, alongside other co-perpetrators, after amassing substantial wealth through illegal gambling.

He was detained with his son Jinggoy in a presidential suite at St. Luke’s Medical Center a month after his arrest. There, he complained of fever and chills.

Later on, he was found to have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The Sandiganbayan allowed Estrada to be transferred to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), where he remained for nearly two-and-a-half years

He was later moved into a rest house in March 2004, where he stayed until his plunder conviction on September 12, 2007.

Imelda Marcos

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan convicted former Ilocos Norte 2nd District Representative Imelda Marcos of seven counts of graft in 2018.

When Marcos was seeking bail, she claimed in a pleading that she was suffering from “multiple organ infirmities” and was advised by her physician to avoid stress. According to her medical certificate, she was experiencing the following:

• diabetes
• hypertension
• Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease
• mini strokes
• hearing loss
• recurring Urinary Tract Infection
• Chronic Recurrent Gastritis
• colon polyps
• recurring respiratory tract infection

Marcos was granted post-conviction bail in December 2018 by the Sandiganbayan due to her old age and health condition. She was 89 at the time.

Juan Ponce Enrile

The late senator Juan Ponce Enrile was also arrested for his involvement in the pork barrel scam.

The 90-year-old Enrile was placed under hospital arrest on July 4, 2014, because of medical conditions. At the time, Enrile had to receive eye injections twice a week and was reported to be suffering from high blood pressure.

Government doctors also said that Enrile was suffering from a cardiovascular disease, atrial and ventricular arrhythmia, and postnasal drip.

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo

In 2011, former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was arrested for electoral fraud. She was not allowed to travel abroad to get medical treatment.

The former president, said to be experiencing neck pain,  was rushed to St. Luke’s Medical Center, where she had an operation on her cervical spine and two surgeries for bone grafting. This led to the infamous neck brace and wheelchair public appearance.

After posting bail, Arroyo was again arrested in 2012 at the VMMC for plunder charges.

She was placed under hospital arrest for four years before the Supreme Court acquitted her in 2016. 

Selective consideration

Southern Illinois University Professor Raymund Narag said medical care for accused individuals was “selectively available to the rich and powerful.”

He compared the unequal consideration to other sick, old, and terminally ill individuals with lesser offenses who remain detained.

“The problem is not that Romualdez is receiving medical attention. The problem is whether the same consideration is available to everyone else. Because right now, how many old, sickly, and terminally ill accused are languishing in our jails, undergoing trial for offenses far less serious than plunder?”

Narag called for the same criteria of medical consideration given to Romualdez to be applied to other detainees. – Rappler.com