The Sandiganbayan Third Division has ordered two Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) officials to appear before the anti-graft court on Thursday, November 5, to testify on the detention status of Leyte Representative and former House Speaker Martin Romualdez.
In a statement on Wednesday, Third Division Clerk of Court Dennis Pulma said Jail Superintendent Maria Lourdes Pacion and Medical Officer Henry Fabro of the BJMP Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory in Payatas were directed to personally appear before the court at 8:30 a.m.
The order came amid allegations that Romualdez had been allowed to leave the detention facility and return without proper authorization.
The allegations surfaced following claims by broadcaster Ramon Tulfo that Romualdez was allegedly being transported out of the facility aboard an ambulance.
The BJMP earlier confirmed that it had launched an investigation into the reports.
According to the agency's initial review of closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage, there were no recorded power or CCTV interruptions at the Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory and no recorded movement of Romualdez outside the facility during the period examined.
The bureau also maintained that all persons deprived of liberty are subject to the same custodial rules and that any movement outside a detention facility requires a proper court order.
Romualdez is currently detained over a P7.44-billion plunder case involving alleged kickbacks from government flood control and infrastructure projects.
He is facing the charges alongside former Ako Bicol party-list representative Zaldy Co, his personal assistant Joselyn Tragua Sereño, and Samchan Foreign Exchange Corporation president Felicito Cristobal Guevarra.
Romualdez has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
