Napoles asks court to allow her to choose her doctors

By: Jaymee T. Gamil - 11 years ago

Janet Napoles INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—She did not get to be confined in the hospital of her choice but alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, the suspected mastermind of the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam, is now requesting the court to allow her to pick her doctors.

In an urgent two-page motion filed late Tuesday afternoon, the Makati City government, representing the Ospital ng Makati (OsMak), referred to a Makati court a letter of Napoles requesting seven of her personal physicians to attend to her at the city-run hospital, where she has been confined for treatment of uterine myoma.

Makati City legal officer Pio Kenneth Dasal endorsed to the Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 a March 28 request letter sent by Napoles’ lawyers to OsMak director Perry Peralta.

In the letter, lawyers Faye Singson and Evita Magnolia Ansaldo asked Peralta to allow Napoles’ personal physicians to “attend to, perform and administer the medical needs, procedures and treatment to be performed on Napoles” at OsMak. The doctors named were Elsie Badillo-Pascua, Efren Domingo, Leo Aquilizan, Michael Lim-Villa, Nick Cruz, and a yet unnamed anesthesiologist and pulmonologist.

The lawyers invoked the Philippine Medical Association Declaration on the Rights and Obligations of the Patient, in pointing out that the “patient is free to avail of the services of the physician of his or her choice.”

On March 31, Peralta had written the court regarding the request. The court asked Peralta to tap the Makati legal office to file the appropriate motion.

The city government said it would grant Napoles’ request with the court’s prior clearance and authority.

Makati RTC Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda scheduled the hearing on the motion for Wednesday at 10 a.m.

With court approval, Napoles was moved from her detention cell at Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, to OsMak at 11 p.m. on Monday.

She is being held for a serious illegal detention charge filed against her by pork barrel scam whistle-blower Benhur Luy. When he was rescued by National Bureau of Investigation agents, Luy alleged that Napoles was running a ring of fake nongovernment organizations that were conduits of pork barrel funds—and huge kickbacks for some lawmakers.

Last March 28, Alameda granted Napoles’ request for hospital surgery and confinement for treatment of a uterine cyst but denied her motion to be brought to the private St. Luke’s Medical Center in Bonifacio Global City in Taguig, ruling that she be treated in a state-run hospital.

Peralta held a press briefing at OsMak, confirming Napoles’ request and OsMak’s intent to refer it to the court.

Peralta has said OsMak “is in a position to accommodate other doctors not affiliated with us under limited authority to practice, depending on the reason,” but added that in Napoles’ particular case, “we have to go through the courts.”

“Even if the court will allow private doctors to come in, we don’t want to insinuate that OsMak can’t handle this case. OsMak can handle Mrs. Napoles’ case,” Peralta clarified.

Napoles started undergoing a “battery of tests” on Tuesday, including “X-ray studies, CT scan and 2D echo,” Peralta said. She is scheduled to undergo a blood test on Wednesday.