Ampatuan, on respirator, asks to stay in hospital

Andal Ampatuan Sr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The legal counsels of the patriarch of the clan charged with the 2009 Maguindanao massacre have formally asked a Quezon City court to allow him to remain in confinement at a military hospital.

Saying their client was connected to a respirator at Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center, Andal Ampatuan Sr.’s lawyers said the condition of the 70-year-old former Maguindanao governor still required hospitalization.

Ampatuan is hooked to a mechanical ventilator—with a tube connected to the machine inserted down his throat—to assist him in breathing.

AFP spokesperson Colonel Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said a medical bulletin issued by the military hospital on Monday morning reported that Ampatuan was found to have pneumonia.

The former Maguindanao governor was set to undergo a whole abdominal ultrasound on Monday.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of QC Regional Trial Court Branch 221 has ordered the defense to submit a medical abstract of the accused, who has been confined at the hospital since Friday.

Defense lawyer Gregorio Narvasa also asked the court to allow a private doctor to examine Ampatuan for a second opinion.

In a medical certificate dated March 11 which was presented in court on Monday, Dr. Estrellita Bitong of V. Luna Medical Center said Ampatuan’s present condition “still requires hospital confinement.”

The certificate said he was diagnosed with the following: Pneumonia, community acquired, high risk; acute respiratory failure secondary to noncardiogenic pulmonary edema; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and chronic alcoholic liver disease.

Malacañang would prefer that Ampatuan remained in a government hospital, especially if the facility would be able to provide his medical needs.

“If the government hospital can address his concern, we see no need for him to be shifted or transferred to a private hospital,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

“In any event, we have more control. We can provide security in those government medical institutions,” Lacierda said.

Ampatuan’s lawyers reportedly wanted him transferred to a private hospital, The Medical City in Pasig City, for further medical tests.

Ampatuan, who has been detained at the Philippine National Police facility in Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, with the other Maguindanao massacre suspects since 2009, was brought to Taguig-Pateros District Hospital on Friday after reportedly vomiting blood. He was transferred to the government hospital later that day.

At Monday’s hearing, the prosecution panel and the patriarch’s lawyers engaged in a heated argument over his confinement.

Private prosecutor Harry Roque pointed out that while Ampatuan’s lawyers filed a motion seeking permission for his hospital visit, he was rushed to the military hospital without a court order. With reports from Dona Z. Pazzibugan and Christine O. Avendaño