Spacious Room But Not a Pres’l Suite For Marcos Kin

APPALLED BY the viral social media posts, the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) denied giving a VIP treat to the presidential kin facing a non-bailable plunder case before the Sandiganbayan.

According to PGH spokesman Dr. Jonas del Rosario, former House Speaker Martin Romualdez isn’t confined in a presidential suite but only a special room on the seventh floor that the PGH was able to prepare for  him on short notice.

This clarification was issued amid criticisms pointing at the special treatment given to Romualdez while many more ill but indigent patients had to wait for hours, even days, to get accommodated in the tertiary hospital.

The PGH said there is no such accommodation (presidential suite) at the hospital and neither is the former speaker confined in a psychiatry ward, as reported.

Del Rosario told GMA 7 News on Sunday that the room was selected based on considerations, which include:

• Easy to secure as it is at the end of the corridor on the 7th floor

• Would not disrupt flow of patient services

• Big enough to accommodate the required security, equipment and personnel to perform the services and tests needed for example the Dobutamine stress echo test.

• Only one remaining big private room was available as of the time of the court order

“The PGH Director will be appearing at the Sandiganbayan today to disclose the findings in court,” Del Rosario said.

On orders of the court, Romualdez was transferred from Cardinal Santos Medical Center in San Juan to PGH in Manila on Saturday morning.

PGH officials were tasked by the Sandiganbayan Third Division to assess if Romualdez needs medical confinement after an arrest warrant was issued against him. Otherwise, he could be detained at the Quezon City Jail.

Romualdez’s doctors have told the anti-graft court that he needed to remain confined in a medical facility. Some of the illnesses cited by his doctors included a fluctuating blood pressure and the risk of a stroke.

The PGH was supposed to submit its recommendation to the Sandiganbayan 5 p.m. on Sunday after completing medical tests on Romualdez. 

However, Dr. del Rosario said a group of specialists will have to discuss the specific findings on Romualdez’s medical test results.

Romualdez was taken to PGH on Saturday to assess if he needs medical confinement after an arrest warrant was issued against him. Otherwise, he could be detained at the Quezon City Jail.

The lawmaker was arrested on Monday at the Cardinal Santos Medical Center, the same day the Office of the Ombudsman filed a P7.4-billion plunder charge against him and three others over their alleged involvement in a kickback scheme on flood control projects.

In a statement, the PGH vowed to provide an impartial, objective and professional review of Romualdez’ health, in accordance with the highest standards of the medical field.

Public schedules and GMA News Online reported on the Divino/Diosdado Paying Patient Services (DPPS) that have historically included a high-tier room category labeled as a “Presidential Suite” priced at ₱6,600 per day.

Medical staff note that the 7th floor of PGH houses the facility’s best and priciest private rooms for paying patients, which led to public assumptions about luxury accommodations.

On September 12, Politiko noted that “while PGH is a government hospital, Romualdez appears to have landed in one of its more comfortable sections.” He was brought by wheelchair to the hospital’s seventh floor, which UP College of Medicine associate professor and pediatric surgeon Dr. Ronnie Baticulon wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that: “Fact: Nasa 7th floor ang mga pinakamagagandang private room ng Philippine General Hospital.”

UP-PGH serves as the training hospital of the UP College of Medicine and has both charity wards and private rooms for paying patients. As of 2026, its priciest accommodation is the presidential suite, which carries a room rate of P6,600 per night. 

Security guards told GMA News that Romualdez entered PGH “not in the regular entryway for patients.” 

According to the hospital website, there are at least 10 types of rooms under its Department of Private Patient Services (DPPS): the ward has a daily rate of P715 followed by semi private 1 (one to three beds) at P1,000 per day and the cubicle at P1,100; the semi private II accommodates 1 to 2 beds and priced at P1,430 per day and the studio room at P1,650 per day.

Then, the “Small Private” and “Big Private” rooms at  P2,200 and P2,750 per day, respectively; the “Superior” rooms at P3,300. The PGH’s 2026 Citizen’s Charter lists the price for a Big Private room at P1,500.

The two most expensive options under the DPPS are the Executive Room at P5,500 per day and the Presidential Suite, which costs P6,600 per day.

The room rates provided by PGH cover only the base daily accommodation charge and do not include additional hospital expenses such as professional fees, laboratory tests, and other medical procedures, GMA News Online said.