# Philippine court orders arrest of former House speaker Romualdez on plunder charges
*Event date: 2026-09-07*
Former House Speaker Martin Romualdez has been arrested on plunder charges after the Sandiganbayan ordered him taken into government custody, according to Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla. The case centers on allegations that Romualdez received billions of pesos in kickbacks from government projects.
Remulla said Romualdez was confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan City on Monday afternoon after what he described as a cardiovascular event. Police were posted outside his room and in the hospital lobby while officers served the warrant. Remulla said that after his rights were read, Romualdez was considered a person deprived of liberty.
The charges were filed by the Office of the Ombudsman before the Sandiganbayan on Monday. According to the Inquirer report, the allegation is that Romualdez received P7.44 billion worth of kickbacks from flood-control, infrastructure and other government projects from 2022 to 2025. That figure will now become central to the legal fight, but it remains an allegation at this stage of the process.
The arrest also showed the practical complications that can arise when a high-profile defendant is in hospital. PNP-CIDG NCR chief Col. John Guiagui said booking procedures were completed, but Romualdez could not be made to stand for a mugshot because of the apparatus attached to him. The orange detainee shirt was placed over him instead, and a Third Division sheriff verified his condition.
The former speaker’s lawyers visited him, and police said they would return the warrant to the Sandiganbayan on Tuesday morning together with a report on his medical condition. The source also says two other accused had not surrendered, including former appropriations committee chair Zaldy Co, who remains outside the country, and another co-accused linked to Romualdez.
The case matters because it reaches one of the most influential names in Philippine politics and because it is tied to public works spending, an area that has become synonymous with patronage and corruption allegations in the country. Flood-control projects in particular have been under close scrutiny, and the size of the alleged kickbacks gives the case exceptional political weight.
At this stage, the verified facts are narrow but important: the Ombudsman filed the case, the Sandiganbayan ordered custody, Romualdez was arrested while hospitalized and the alleged kickback total is P7.44 billion. The legal outcome is still ahead, but the arrest marks a major escalation in a corruption case that could reverberate far beyond one hospital room.
For now, Romualdez is in custody; the allegations will have to be tested in court.
