PNP medico-legal officer facing raps from rival doc

THE conflicting autopsy findings on a man who died after being beaten up by mall security wasn’t the first time Dr. Nestor Sator crossed swords with Dr. Gil Macato.

Sator, PNP medico-legal officer earlier faced a string of charges filed by Macato, former medico-legal officer of the National Bureau of Investigation in Central Visayas (NBI-7).

Sator claimed that the charges were filed by Macato after he allegedly didn’t receive favors to conduct post mortem examinations and autopsies from two officials of the Cebu City Health Office.

“Maybe, he just wanted to get back at me,” Sator told Cebu Daily News yesterday.

The two doctors held different autopsy findings on the April 12 death of Mario Alfie Ducayag, who was accused of shoplifting at the Gaisano Metro Colon mall.

Sator’s findings were questioned by Ducayag’s family who filed criminal and administrative charges against him before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office, the Ombudsman-Visayas and the Professional Regulations Commission last Friday.

Sator’s autopsy showed that Ducayag died due to asphyxia and bleeding pulmonary tuberculosis.”

He said he wasn’t biased in favor of one party and he simply reported what he saw.

This contradicted the autopsy findings of Dr. Macato and NBI-7 medico-legal officer Rene Cam, who said the 23-year-old Ducayag died due to “traumatic neck injuries.”

Last April 10, Macato asked the prosecutors’ office, the Ombudsman, and the PRC to investigate Sator, Cebu City Health Office chief Dr. Stella Ygonia and Dr. Eliseo Virtucio II, City Health Cadaver Section chief.

All three faced charges of unjust vexation and violation of the anti-graft law filed by Macato, who said in his complaint that Virtucio gave “manifest partiality” to Sator over him.

Macato said Virtucio told the funeral parlors that engaged his services that his findings were inaccurate and he is unqualified to sign certificates.

He said Virtucio also admonished funeral parlors that he won’t accept death certificates signed by Macato.

Macato said Virtucio recommended Sator to conduct the post-mortem examinations.

In one incident, Macato said Virtucio rejected the death certificate of one Quirino Togonon whom he examined postmortem.

Virtucio purportedly instructed the funeral parlor representative to refer the case to Dr. Sator who conducted an autopsy and issued another death certificate.

Macato said Ygonia and Virtucio announced that they will reject the death certificates that he signed. Macato said he lost big clients as a result.

In filing his complaint, Macato was assisted by lawyer Wendell Quiban—the same lawyer who assisted Ducayag’s family. Sator said Virtucio just wanted Macato to refrain from signing death certificates.

“He (Macato) kept on signing death certificates when he’s not with the NBI anymore,” Sator told Cebu Daily News.