LIVE UPDATES: Martin Romualdez in PGH

The Philippine General Hospital (PGH) on Saturday vowed to provide an impartial review of the health of former speaker and Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez following his transfer to the medical facility.

Romualdez was transferred to PGH in Manila City from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan after the Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered an independent review of his health. The PGH's doctors are tasked with verifying his claims that he needs to stay in the hospital for urgent healthcare.

"Mananatiling obhetibo at propesyonal ang PGH sa pagsasagawa ng pagsusuri, alinsunod sa pinakamataas na pamantayan sa larangan ng medisina," the PGH said in a statement.

(The PGH will remain professional in the review, in accordance with the highest standards of the medical field.)

At past 10 a.m., the ambulance believed to have brought Romualdez to PGH leaves the hospital compound.

Mga transport vehicle ng BJMP at ambulansyang pinaniniwalaang naghatid kay dating House Speaker Martin Romualdez sa UP-PGH, umalis na ng ospital. | via @PamelaAdriano pic.twitter.com/ydyk2KGzZj

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 12, 2026

VIP Parking ng Philippine General Hospital kung saan nakaparada ang ambulansyang hinihinalang sinakyan ni Dating House Speaker Martin Romualdez mula sa Cardinal Santos Medical Center. | via @PamelaAdriano pic.twitter.com/mLuC3gBeEg

— DZBB Super Radyo (@dzbb) September 12, 2026

Former House speaker Martin Romualdez arrived at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila from the Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Saturday morning.

Romualdez arrived at around 8:30 a.m., according to a report by GMA News' Jonathan Andal.

PGH officials were tasked by the Sandiganbayan Third Division with assessing if Romualdez needs medical confinement after an arrest warrant was issued against him. Otherwise, he could be detained at the Quezon City Jail.

Members of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology and Philippine National Police (PNP) were seen in and around the PGH. 

Romualdez’s doctors have told the anti-graft court that he needed to remain confined in a medical facility. Some of the illnesses cited by his doctors included a fluctuating blood pressure and the risk of a stroke.

He also reportedly exhibited signs of depression and anxiety.

The PGH doctors were ordered to submit their assessment of Romualdez’s health by September 13, with PGH Director Dr. Gerardo D. Legaspi or another representative delivering the assessment to the court the following day.

The former House speaker faces a P7.4-billion plunder in charge in relation to the flood control scam.

His co-accused are former House appropriations panel chairperson Zaldy Co, Romualdez’s personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Serenio, and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation President Felicito Cristobal Guevarra. —Jean Mangaluz/KG, GMA News

Former House speaker and incumbent Leyte 1st District Representative Martin Romualdez is set to be transferred from a hospital in San Juan City to the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) in Manila on Saturday.

Ambulances and transport vehicles of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) arrived at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City before 7 a.m., according to GMA News reporter Gabriel Gonzales.

The Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered the PGH on Friday to examine Romualdez and verify the findings of his doctors from Cardinal Santos Medical Center, where he has been confined since Monday.

Romualdez will be transferred and confined in state-run PGH starting Saturday, September 12, until further orders from the court.

Meanwhile, at PGH, members of the Manila Police District - Mobile Force Battalion are already on standby for the arrival of the former speaker on Saturday morning, according to a report by Pamela Adriano on Super Radyo dzBB. 

The convoy with Romualdez left Cardinal Santos Medical Center past 8 a.m. to head towards PGH. —with a report from Jean Mangaluz/KG, GMA News