Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla
MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Jonvic Remulla on Thursday described as “chismis” (gossip) a retired columnist’s allegation that Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez could freely go in and out of the New Quezon City Jail in Payatas where he is detained on a plunder charge.
“That’s just gossip. I would like all of you to join me and view the CCTV (closed-circuit television) footage for the entire duration that he is there,” Remulla told reporters.
He confirmed that Romualdez, a first cousin of President Marcos, has not left the detention facility.
“In fact, he receives very few visitors, like his counsel and family,” Remulla said, estimating that the former House Speaker had lost around 100 pounds over the past year.
In a social media post on Tuesday, retired columnist Ramon Tulfo said that according to a source, the jail warden would switch off power to the whole facility to turn off the CCTV every time Romualdez would sneak out of the male dormitory on board an ambulance.
Tulfo, however, acknowledged on Thursday that he had been fed wrong information.
“Embarrassing and humiliating because my readers trust me and took me on my word,” he said in another post.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) earlier said its initial review of CCTV footage showed no power or surveillance system disruptions and no instances of Romualdez leaving the jail.
Jail officials summoned
Tulfo’s allegations prompted the Sandiganbayan Third Division to order New Quezon City Jail Supt. Maria Lourdes Pacion and medical officer Henry Fabro to appear at a hearing on Thursday.
During the hearing, Romualdez’s counsel, Via Valdecantos, told the court that they had asked Tulfo to delete his Facebook posts.
“That was very damaging to our client because it has a tendency to inflame the public,” the lawyer said.
Pacion, meanwhile, told the court that the BJMP has allowed Romualdez’s staff to attend to his needs in his cell because of his unstable mental health and their lack of personnel to assign to him.
Romualdez was ordered arrested in September on allegations that he received P7.44 billion worth of kickbacks from government infrastructure projects between 2022 and 2025.