Wrong foot, nonexistent doctor

MANILA, Philippines—First, it was the wrong foot. Now, it’s a nonexistent doctor.

Prosecutors in the Maguindanao massacre case on Wednesday said they would have a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) doctor summoned for recommending that suspect Andal Ampatuan Sr. be brought to the Makati Medical Center under the care of a doctor who, it turned out, did not work at the hospital.

Ma. Victoria E. Valeria, the BJMP doctor, will be asked to explain why she recommended that Andal Sr. be brought to the MMC under the care of a certain Dr. Glenn Santos when no doctor by that name worked there, said private prosecutor Nena Santos.

“We checked the Internet, called the hospital, and then went there to check but there’s no Dr. Glenn Santos at Makati Med,” she said.

On May 4, Valeria recommended to presiding Judge Jocelyn Solis Reyes that Andal Sr. be referred to a “Dr. Glenn Santos” at the MMC because his “left ankle joint” was swelling, supposedly from osteoarthritis.

Inconsistencies

Prosecutors questioned Valeria’s report, pointing out that defense lawyers had stated in their submissions to the court that Andal Sr. was complaining of swelling in his right foot, not in his left ankle.

Reyes eventually granted the suspect’s motion for a medical check-up but ruled that this be done by a government doctor and at the BJMP maximum security prison compound in Camp Bagong Diwa, Bicutan, Taguig.

According to another private prosecutor Harry Roque, this was “insurance against falsity” because government doctors are sworn to uphold the country’s laws.

No such name

Ampatuan Sr.’s lawyer, Sigfrid Fortun, on Wednesday clarified that the physician’s name, Glenn Reyes, did not come from his client or the defense panel.

“We were surprised and our client [Andal Sr.] even asked who [the doctor] was because he was not our client’s personal physician,” Fortun explained.

The lawyer said the Makati Medical Center doctor that his client was going to consult was Benjamin Benitez.

A prosecution source said they received information that the name of the doctor, Glenn Santos, was given to Valeria by Andal Sr.’s private nurse.

Special treatment

“Imagine that, he has a private nurse in his cell. That’s special treatment,” the source said.

Another source said Andal Sr. and his son, Zaldy Ampatuan, another massacre suspect, each had a personal nurse in their cells.

“We’ve learned that they each have a nurse on call 24/7. They also have a helper,” the source claimed.

Surprise inspections

Roque asked and got the judge’s permission for the relatives of the massacre victims to be allowed to inspect the jail cells of the accused members of the Ampatuan clan at Camp Bagong Diwa.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu, whose wife was one of the massacre victims, said he had asked Interior Secretary Jessie Robredo to allow the surprise inspections.

Leviste-like treatment

“You know what it is like to have money in our society…This could be like (the case of former Batangas) Gov. Antonio Leviste. And the Ampatuans have more money,” Mangudadatu said.

Andal Sr. has been complaining of various ailments so the presiding judge directed the BJMP to have its doctor evaluate his medical condition.

Last year, Andal Sr. was brought to the V. Luna Medical Center in Quezon City where he was confined in the intensive care unit for herpes for five days, Fortun recalled. With Miko Morelos