Ampatuan hooked to ventilator in military hospital–AFP
MANILA, Philippines — Andal Ampatuan Sr., a principal accused in the Maguindanao massacre case, has been hooked to a mechanical ventilator so he could breathe while confined at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center in Quezon City.
The patriarch of the powerful Ampatuan clan has a tube, which is connected to a machine, inserted down his throat to help him breathe, according to the AFP.
AFP spokesman Colonel Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said that the medical bulletin issued by the military hospital Monday morning showed that Ampatuan was diagnosed with pneumonia.
Doctors attending to Ampatuan also found him afflicted with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and chronic alcoholic liver disease.
The former Maguindanao governor has been scheduled to undergo a whole abdominal ultrasound on Monday.
The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) transferred Ampatuan to the main military hospital last Friday afternoon from the Taguig Pateros District Hospital without a court order.
Ampatuan, who has been detained at the Philippine National Police Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig since 2009 with other accused in massacre suspects, was rushed to the hospital after he reportedly vomited blood.
Ampatuan’s lawyers reportedly wanted him transferred to a private hospital, The Medical City in Pasig City, for further medical tests.
According to Burgos, the AFP Medical Center is “capable” of treating Ampatuan.
“But it will all depend on the BJMP,” Burgos said.
