Sandiganbayan orders Romualdez committed to BJMP custody

September 10, 2026

By ABOGADO.COM.PH Staff

The Sandiganbayan has ordered the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology in Quezon City to take custody of Leyte Rep. and former Speaker Martin Romualdez as a detention prisoner amid his non-bailable P7.4 billion plunder case.

Romualdez is confined at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center and has filed a motion asking to be detained at the hospital, citing his cardiovascular disease and other illnesses.

In its Order of Commitment, the Sandiganbayan Third Division said Romualdez is to be held as a detention prisoner and cannot be moved, removed, transferred, or released unless ordered by the court.

The court also set Romualdez’s arraignment on September 14.

The prosecution has opposed his motion.

Romualdez, former lawmaker Elizaldy Co, and two others were charged with plunder over alleged kickbacks from flood control and other infrastructure project contractors.