MANILA, Philippines?The lawyer of detained and suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Governor Zaldy ?Puti? Ampatuan has asked a Quezon City court to include a National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) doctor in the list of government physicians authorized to conduct a medical examination on Ampatuan.
In an urgent motion, lawyer Redemberto Villanueva claimed that there is a need to include a physician from NCMH in order to examine the mental and emotional state of his client.
Ampatuan is among the 197 persons who are facing charges of 56 counts of murder for involvement in the massacre of 57 people, including 31 journalists, in Maguindanao on November 23 last year.