Ampatuan Sr. seeks medical help

Former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriarch of the Ampatuan clan tagged in the Maguindanao massacre case, has asked the court to allow him to seek medical attention from another hospital after undergoing tests at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for his liver disease.

In an urgent motion filed in the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221, Ampatuan’s counsel said the accused underwent abdominal ultrasound and CT scan with contrast at the PGH on May 25, but “was denied admission since there was no available internist and gastroenterologist” to attend to him.

The court earlier allowed Ampatuan to undergo medical tests and be admitted in PGH, if necessary, after he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis by the medical officer of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Taguig City.

Ampatuan’s lawyer identified the Philippine Heart Center and the University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Hospital as alternatives.

During Tuesday’s hearing on the motion, however, the court noted there was no basis for a hospital admission yet.

In an order, the court granted the move of Ampatuan’s lawyer, J. Ricardo Moreño, to hold the urgent motion in abeyance pending submission of the results of the medical tests conducted at the PGH.

Ampatuan is one of the principal accused in the November 2009 massacre.–Erika Sauler with a report by Diego Villegas