Detained senator Juan Ponce Enrile arrives at the Philippine General Hospital for a medical check-up. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
MANILA, Philippines—The director of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) has asked the Sandiganbayan for another 15 days to complete the medical tests on detained Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who has pleaded with the court that he be held in a hospital.
In a manifestation he submitted on Friday, Dr. Jose Gonzales told the antigraft court’s Third Division that Enrile was diagnosed with bronchial asthma and that a pulmonologist should check on his condition immediately.
Gonzales also asked the court to extend the 30-day period it had given the PGH to complete Enrile’s medical examination.
“In view of this, the medical team tasked to conduct the examination of Senator Enrile recommended that the senator be examined thoroughly by a pulmonologist … This request is being made in order to render a complete medical assessment on Senator Enrile,” Gonzales said.
“However, in view of the requested pulmonary examination, the undersigned further respectfully requests that he be given an extension of 15 days … or until Sept. 10 within which to submit the PGH report or recommendation on the medical assessment on Senator Enrile,” he said.
Enrile, 90, has been held in a private room at the PNP General Hospital at Camp Crame, Quezon City, since he turned himself in to authorities on July 4 after the court ordered his arrest on plunder and graft charges over the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
A former Senate president, defense secretary and martial law enforcer of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Enrile is accused of pocketing P172.8 million of his allotments from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) from 2007 to 2009.
Citing his “advanced age and frail condition,” Enrile petitioned the court for hospital arrest instead of being locked up in a regular jail.
His two coaccused in the pork barrel scam, fellow opposition Senators Bong Revilla and Jinggoy Estrada, are detained in the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center, also at Camp Crame.
The PNP General Hospital may not have the necessary specialists or resources to deal with his needs as an elderly person and his poor medical condition, and the complete specialized equipment and facilities for the delicate treatments required for his ailments, Enrile said in his petition.
His lawyers said Enrile was diagnosed with several medical conditions, including macular degeneration, an age-related eye ailment that could lead to blindness.
Before acting fully on his petition, the court directed the PGH to thoroughly examine Enrile to determine if there was a basis for him to ask for hospital arrest.
The court has also allowed Enrile to leave the police hospital to have his regular eye checkup in a private clinic in Makati City and in other private medical clinics if necessary provided he pays his expenses.
But government prosecutors opposed Enrile’s petition, saying the “justifications being invoked for his prayer for hospital detention are dubious and questionable.”
“(H)owever, prior to his arrest, Enrile has been serving … full time … as a senator of the Republic, undertaking all the work that any legislator is assigned to do. He has not made of record any inability to discharge his functions as a senator, including crafting bills, attending committee hearings or participating in plenary deliberations,” they added.
RELATED STORIES
Enrile may go to any hospital at his expense, says Sandigan