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| Police just released this mugshot of Romualdez taken during his hospital arrest on Monday |
Philippine political rivals Vice President Sara Z. Duterte and former House Speaker and incumbent Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez have both been served warrants of arrest three days apart, on Saturday and Monday.
In
the latter case, Romualdez was arrested Monday while confined at Cardinal
Santos Memorial Medical Center in San Juan City, on at least 15 counts of
graft, involving at least Php7.44 billion. The offences are non-bailable.
Interior
Secretary Jonvic Remulla said doctors at the hospital said Romualdez suffered
from a cardiovascular “event” with unstable blood pressure, and he was having
an anxiety attack.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
Despite
this, the police served him the warrant issued by the third division of the
Sandiganbayan and put him through booking procedures, including having his mug
shot taken with the orange detainees’ shirt placed on top of his hospital gown.
Romualdez
is charged along with Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co and two others with “repeatedly receiving, directly or indirectly,
on at least fifteen (15) occasions, commissions, shares, percentages,
kickbacks, ‘commitments’ and/or other pecuniary benefits” worth at least P7.44
billion.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
The
amount allegedly came from contractors, persons and entities with interests in
flood control, infrastructure and/or other government projects funded under the
General Appropriations Acts for fiscal years 2022 to 2025. This was after
Romualdez was elected Speaker of the House of Representatives shortly after his
first cousin, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. took office.
Romualdez
through his lawyers, is asking the
Sandiganbayan to let him remain at the hospital after his arrest, citing his
“documented cardiac history,”diabetes and primary hypothyroidism, among other
ailments.
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| VP Sara holding up a copy of her arrest warrant as she posted court bail |
Duterte,
who failed to get the court to defer or recall the warrants, was accompanied by
her lawyers and a few supporters when she posted bail of Php120,000 on each of
the three charges.
The
charges resulted from Duterte’s remarks during an online press conference in
November that she had spoken with an assassin and instructed him to kill
Marcos, his wife and cousin, if she were killed. She has denied threatening
them.
The
alleged threats form part of the allegations in the impeachment complaint
against her which is now being tried by the Philippine Senate. The complaint
also alleges that she had misused public funds amounting to Php612.5 million while vice president
and former secretary of education.
A
conviction could remove her from office and prevent her from pursuing her bid
to run as president in 2028.
