Lawyer denies Ampatuan’s death despite stage 4 liver cancer

By: Aries Joseph Hegina - 9 years ago

The lawyer of former Maguindanao governor Andal Ampatuan Sr. refuted rumors that the Ampatuan patriarch is dead.

Defense lawyer Salvador Panelo said that the 74-year-old is suffering from stage four liver cancer and is currently confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) in Quezon City.

“He has been diagnosed to have cancer of the liver. He is confined at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute,” Panelo told INQUIRER.net in a text message on Monday.

Panelo filed an urgent motion before Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 to allow the clan patriarch to stay at NKTI where he can avail of all medical treatments available.

Last May 25, Ampatuan underwent abdominal ultrasound and CT scan with contrast at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) after he was diagnosed with liver cirrhosis while in detention at the Quezon City Jail Annex in Taguig City.

Panelo said that laboratory tests results showed that Ampatuan is suffering from “terminal stage” of liver cancer.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) said that Ampatuan was brought to NKTI last June 5 because the clan patriarch experienced difficulty in breathing.

Ampatuan Sr. is one of the principal suspects in the 2009 Maguindanao Massacre that killed 58 people, including 32 members of the media. It has been considered as the “single deadliest event for journalists in history.”

Sajid Islam Ampatuan, Ampatuan’s son and one of the accused in the massacre case, was granted temporary freedom after posting P11.6 million bail last March.