Court urged to cite Gigi Reyes’ doctor for contempt

Gigi Reyes. POOL PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Let him explain in writing why he should not be cited for contempt by the Sandiganbayan.

This was what government prosecutors asked the Sandiganbayan to do to Dr. Anthony Lontoc, a cardiologist at the Taguig Pateros District Hospital, over his decision to transfer pork barrel scam suspect Jessica Lucila ‘‘Gigi’’ Reyes to a bigger hospital without securing a court order.

The prosecutors made the request in a motion filed with the Sandiganbayan on Monday.

The doctor had authorized the transfer of Reyes, who was then at the Taguig hospital, to the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) on July 11 due to Reyes’ chest pains.

But the anti-graft court had not issued an order authorizing the release. The Sandiganbayan had invited Lontoc in a hearing to explain the transfer.

Lontoc had told the court he deemed Reyes’ condition an emergency situation that required Reyes to be transferred to a tertiary hospital which he said had better equipment to monitor her heart condition.

The Heart Center’s medical director Dr. Manuel Chuachiaco had also told the court that Lontoc called him up as early as 3 p.m. about the transfer. He even said he had required Lontoc to secure a court order.

“Considering that as early as 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Dr. Lontoc already considered the transfer of Reyes to PHC, he has sufficient time to inform thru the jail warden of the Taguig city jail Camp Bagong Diwa or the counsel of the accused to secure for a court order,” the motion said.

The prosecutors pointed out that around 4:30 p.m. on the day Reyes was transferred to the Heart Center, Reyes’ counsel was able to file a motion for Reyes to be transferred at a tertiary hospital.

“This period could have been availed to secure a court order,” the prosecutors said.

“Given these circumstances, Dr. Lontoc refused to exercise what is incumbent upon a physician/medical officer attending to an accused who is under detention,” the prosecutors added.

According to Rule 71 of the Revised Rules of Court, those cited for indirect contempt may be penalized with P30,000 fine or imprisonment not exceeding six months.

Reyes, the resigned chief of staff of her co-accused Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, faces plunder charges for her alleged involvement in the pork barrel scam.

She was ordered detained at the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) facility in Camp Bagong Diwa after she surrendered to the court.

But she was rushed to the Taguig hospital due to panic attacks, shortly after she was transferred to Camp Bagong Diwa from the Sandiganbayan jail.

From the Taguig hospital, Reyes was again rushed to the Heart Center on July 11, this time for chest pains.

She is now back in Camp Bagong Diwa in an isolation room, as Dr. Lontoc told the court that Reyes was suffering from a mixed anxiety disorder which causes her to suffer from palpitations and seizures under stressful conditions.