Arroyo’s co-accused asks court for medical furlough anew

A former Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) executive facing plunder for the alleged misuse of funds together with former president and now Pampanga representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has asked the Sandiganbayan for a medical furlough for additional eye checkup following his operation.

In a motion before the antigraft court First Division, detained former budget officer Benigno Aguas asked the court for a four-day furlough on June 20, July 7, July 21 and Aug. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City.

Aguas, 67, said his doctor George Pile said he needed to undergo follow-through treatment after his retinal detachment surgery.

“Movant is therefore asking once more permission from the court to allow him temporary leave from detention on those days and hours, and he assures that the furlough he is asking will be purely for the reasons above stated and that he will abide by the conditions to be imposed by the court and will not do anything that will compromise his detention in any manner,” the motion read.

Aguas has undergone surgery due to his deteriorating vision resulting from diabetes.

READ: Arroyo co-accused in PCSO fund mess seeks furlough for eye check-up

The accused said he is at the “risk of losing (his) eyesight.”

“In fact, his left eye’s vision is now already down to 30 percent,” his camp’s previous motion said.

“The physician who attended to Movant at his detention cell certified to the urgency of the need for movant to be thoroughly examined by an ophthalmologist…such an examination by an eye specialist would require the use of sophisticated equipment which can be found only in a clinic or hospital,” the earlier motion read.

In a recommendation to the court, Aguas’ doctor Erwin Erfe had said “On examination, patient is a known diabetic for 5 years with near blindness of the left eye.”

“Patient requires immediate examination by an ophthalmologist to possibly save his eyesight,” Erfe added.

Aguas is the co-accused of Arroyo for plunder over the alleged misuse of P366 million in PCSO intelligence funds from 2008 to 2010 for personal gain.

Aguas is currently detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center in Camp Crame, while Arroyo is currently under hospital arrest at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City. IDL