(Rappler) Manila — The Sandiganbayan Third Division ordered on Friday the transfer of former House Speaker and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez to the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for an independent medical examination, moving him out of the private Cardinal Santos Medical Center where he has been confined since his arrest. Associate Justice Karl Miranda, who chairs the division, issued the order after two days of hearings on Romualdez’s motion to remain hospitalized rather than transfer to a regular jail facility.

The transfer is set for Saturday, Sept. 12, with the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, PNP, and judiciary marshals coordinating to bring him to UP-PGH by ambulance. The court directed UP-PGH’s doctors to conduct the exam independently of Romualdez’s current physicians at Cardinal Santos, and ordered a medical report by Sept. 13 ahead of testimony on Sept. 14.

Romualdez’s own doctors testified Friday about his cardiological, neurological, and psychiatric conditions, including a psychiatrist’s disclosure that he has been diagnosed with depressive disorder and anxiety. Miranda stressed that any hospital confinement must rest purely on medical necessity, saying the court “must be very careful and dispel any perception that the grant of hospitalization was based on the status, position, wealth or influence of the accused.”