Napoles’ camp seeks hospital arrest due to ovarian tumor
Janet Lim-Napoles. INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles has asked a Makati court to allow her to be examined for an ovarian tumor and to be possibly placed under hospital arrest at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
The request was contained in an urgent motion filed Tuesday afternoon at the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150, where Napoles and her brother Reynald Lim are facing serious illegal detention charges filed by pork barrel scam whistleblower Benhur Luy.
Napoles has been detained at the Fort Sto. Domingo at Sta. Rosa, Laguna, while Lim remains at large.
In the motion filed Tuesday, defense lawyer Fay Singson said Napoles was rushed last Oct. 24 to the Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center where she underwent a CT scan following severe abdominal pains and “profuse menstrual bleeding for nine consecutive days.”
Napoles’ endocrinologist at St. Luke’s in BGC, Michael Lim Villa, examined Napoles at her place of detention in Sta. Rosa on Dec. 14 after she continued to complain of abdominal pain and bleeding, as well as “hypoglycemia, drastic weight loss, chest pains,” the motion added.
Villa was furnished a copy of the CT scan report from the Southern Luzon Hospital, and Villa “explained to [Napoles] that the CT scan report showed ovarian tumor, that it was recommended by…[the hospital]…to have tumor markers, that the hemoglobin count of the accused had considerably dropped,” the petition added.
It said Villa suggested that Napoles consult her gynecologist, Elsie Badillo-Pascua, who recommended “further comprehensive gynecological work up, a transvaginal ultrasound examination, a comprehensive medical check-up as well as the admission of [Napoles] to a reputable hospital.”
Singson noted in the motion that “These comprehensive examinations and medical procedures cannot be conducted inside Fort Sto. Domingo… for lack of facilities.”
Begging the “kindness and human compassion” of the court, Singson requested that the examinations be done by Napoles’ doctors at St. Luke’s.
“Depending on the outcome of her examination and upon the advice of her doctor, should confinement be necessary, it is also most respectfully requested that [Napoles] be placed under hospital arrest also at St. Luke’s hospital” in BGC, the motion added.
Judge Elmo Alameda, in hearing the motion on Tuesday, issued subpoenas for Pascua and the government physician at Fort Sto. Domingo to appear at a further hearing on the motion scheduled on Feb. 24.
“We are not experienced on the field of medicine. The court will have to rely solely on testimonies of doctors whose medical certificates are appended” to the motion, Alameda said.
“From there, the court will be able to form a conclusion on the propriety of granting or denying a motion,” Alameda said.
The hearing on the serious illegal detention charges continued in Alameda’s sala on Tuesday morning, during which the prosecution presented four of its witnesses—National Bureau of Investigation agent Dante Berou, a former member of Napoles’ staff, Merlina Suñas, Luy’s mother Gertrudes, and Luy’s sister Annabel.
The witnesses simply adopted the testimonies they gave during the hearings on Napoles’ bail petition.
Meanwhile, defense lawyer Alfredo Villamor told reporters outside the courtroom that their camp would file a petition with the Court of Appeals to overturn Alameda’s earlier decision denying Napoles’ bail petition.
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