Ampatuan Sr. still in ICU; may have pneumonia, say docs

Andal Ampatuan Sr., patriarch of the clan accused of masterminding the 2009 Maguindanao massacre, remains in the intensive care unit (ICU) at the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center (formerly V. Luna), a military spokesperson said on Saturday.

AFP public affairs chief Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said Ampatuan, former governor of Maguindanao, was rushed to the hospital after vomiting blood on Friday and was admitted to the surgical ICU of the hospital’s pulmonology service.

“There was no court order for that but he was admitted because it was an emergency,” Burgos said.

The initial medical diagnosis was the 70-year-old Ampatuan had pneumonia.

Director Rosendo Dial, chief of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, said Ampatuan was “still weak but conscious” and was being given intravenous medication and nutrition.

“He is still in the ICU waiting for the results of medical tests,” Dial said.

Ampatuan was rushed to the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital shortly after lunch on Friday after he complained of a high fever and vomited blood. He was transferred to the former V. Luna Medical Center later in the afternoon after the district hospital said it lacked the facilities to treat him.

A medical abstract from the Taguig-Pateros hospital showed that on Friday, Ampatuan’s blood pressure dropped to 70 over 50.

A chest X-ray showed that aside from pneumonia, Ampatuan’s had an enlarged heart. The district hospital recommended that he be moved to the ICU in a bigger facility.

At V. Luna, Ampatuan initially stayed in the emergency room after undergoing blood chemistry and other laboratory tests.

A jail nurse has been assigned to look after him.  Dial said family members would be allowed to stay with him if they wished.

Asked how long Ampatuan would stay at the hospital in the absence of a court order, Dial said it would depend on the results of the medical exams.

“That will depend on the doctor and the lab results. In cases of an inmate who is between life and death, he must be brought to a hospital,” Dial said in a text message in Filipino.

Ampatuan’s lawyer was reported to have gotten a court order for Ampatuan’s confinement for pneumonia.

Ampatuan, along with several members of his family, have been detained at the Quezon City Jail Annex located in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City.

The Ampatuans and over 90 others are on trial for their alleged roles in the massacre of 57 persons, including 31 journalists, in November 2009 in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao.

The reported 58th victim, photojournalist Reynaldo Momay, has not been found.