Corona to be transferred to regular room

Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER PHOTO / NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

MANILA, Philippines—Chief Justice Renato Corona will be transferred to a regular room after spending two days inside The Medical City’s Intensive Care Unit, his doctors said Thursday.

Dr. Eugenio Jose Ramos, Senior Vice President of The Medical City Hospital, said Corona’s condition has remained stable and “no adverse events have occurred.”

“We have monitored his biochemical markers; they have remained within the normal ranges. The Troponin T Level that has shown to be elevated on admission can be attributed to the patient’s chronically elevated serum creatinine levels secondary to his chronic kidney diseas. To validate, troponin I and CKMB were also done serially which yielded normal results. In this regard, an acute myocardial infraction has been ruled out. His blood sugar and kidney function are stable,” Ramos said.

But the doctors said it is still very risky for the Chief Justice to attend the hearing on Friday “given the underlying coronary artery disease of the patient which has shown progression compared to 2011 studies, the risk of an acute coronary event occurring in a highly stressful circumstances is real.”

“It is the consensus of the medical team that attending the Senate hearing tomorrow (Friday) will pose a risk to the Chief Justice’s cardiac status. Purely on the basis of his medical condition, therefore, the team has reservation about exposing him to the risk of an acute coronary event,” Ramos said.

Ramos said they will ask Corona to sign a waiver if he will attend the impeachment trial on Friday.

“If they decide to attend, we will support it but they have to release the medical team from any responsibility,” Ramos said.

Still, he said the doctors will accompany the Chief Justice to the Senate.