Ex-Speaker Romualdez faces non-bailable ₱7.4b plunder case, jail transfer loomingLast updated: September 10, 2026 | 09:294 MIN READFile photo taken on July 28, 2025 shows ex-Speaker of the House Martin Romualdez (R) during the State of the Nation Address at the House of Representatives in Manila. Romualdez stepped down as Congress speaker in September amid the probe into fake flood-control projects which has kicked up public anger.AFPMANILA: An anti-graft court on Thursday (Sept. 10, 2026) ordered the formal "commitment" of former House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, named in a massive corruption scandal, to a regular detention facility in Quezon City.This strips the high-profile politician, who is a first-cousin of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, of police custody as he faces massive multi-billion peso plunder charges.The Sandiganbayan 3rd Division issued the commitment order transferring custody of the Leyte representative to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) at the New Quezon City Jail-Male Dormitory in Payatas (NQCJ). Get it: Fast, verified news for FREE ... download the Gulf News app — simply click here Romualdez 'to be held therein as a detention prisoner'"We hereby commit to you the living person of accused Ferdinand Martin Gomez Romualdez... to be held therein as a detention prisoner," as per the court's order to the NQCJ warden.As of the time of posting Romualdez remains confined at Cardinal Santos Medical Center pending hearings on his hospital arrest. Romualdez faces a ₱7.44 billion plunder charge, alongside multiple counts of graft, bribery, and money laundering.The charges stem from alleged irregularities and kickbacks tied to nationwide flood control projects funded between 2022 and 2025.The Office of the Ombudsman tagged him as an alleged mastermind in the scandal.The 'hospital arrest' controversy