Jail doctors face relief over hospital referrals to high-profile inmates—De Lima

Justice Secretary Leila De Lima. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Several doctors inside the New Bilibid Prison have been recommended for relief from their post following questionable outside referrals for high-profile inmates to private hospitals without clearance from Justice Secretary Leila De Lima.

De Lima said Friday that Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan, the undersecretary-in-charge of the Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) made the recommendation.

Last May 27, Herbert Colangco alias Ampang was brought to Asian Hospital and Medical Center in Alabang. He is the leader of the bank robbery gang responsible for the heists in 2003 in Pampanga and Quezon City and Paranaque in 2005.

Then, last May 13, Amin Buratong, the operator of the shabu tiangge (drug flea market) was taken to Medical City due to recurring coronary disease and a liver ailment. Also, another convicted drug lord Ricardo Camata, commander of the Sigue Sigue Sputnik gang was taken to the Metropolitan Hospital in Manila due to lung ailment. Starlet Krista Miller and television dancers were among his visitors. Miller said she only visited Camata to sell him a condominium unit.

De Lima said Baraan submitted an initial report to her.

“There is a recommendation in the initial report to relieve doctors in the NBP hospital, about a couple of them responsible in issuing so-called emergency referrals when, sa tingin ni Usec. Baraan, based on his initial probe, is not really an emergency situation and therefore prior approval from me should have been sought,” she said.

De Lima said she would create a body to dig deeper into the matter.

“There are a few more recommendations… I’m still studying other recommendations but, definitely, I will be constituting a committee or a fact-finding panel to expand the investigation,” she said.

“But the [Baraan] initial report should serve as a very good starting point for the expanded probe… we’re going to have really an honest-to-goodness serious and expanded probe into this whole thing. That’s doubtful especially most, I think, of these inmates are high-profile and believed to be monied drug inmates,” De Lima said.

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