No hospital arrest for Napoles

UNDER TIGHT GUARD Janet Lim-Napoles, principal suspect in the P10-billion pork scam, wears a bulletproof vest and hooded sweatshirt as she arrives for a medical checkup at PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame, Quezon City, on Wednesday. LEONITO NAVALES/PNP-PIO

MANILA, Philippines—Doctors at a police hospital have ruled out hospital confinement for detained Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the P10-billion pork barrel scam, for now.

“The condition of Napoles is not life-threatening,” Chief Supt. Alejandro Advincula Jr., director of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Health Service, told reporters.

Under tight security, Napoles was taken to the PNP General Hospital at Camp Crame on Wednesday where she underwent a series of medical tests.

Wearing a bullet-proof vest, a hooded jacket and shades, Napoles was brought immediately to a room on the ground floor of the hospital upon arriving at the camp at about 7 a.m. from the detention facility of Fort Sto. Domingo in Santa Rosa City, Laguna.

Heavily guarded

She was escorted by around 50 heavily armed personnel of the PNP Special Action Force and Regional Public Safety Battalion led by Senior Supt. Ronald Santos, deputy regional director for operations of the Calabarzon police.

After a two-hour medical checkup, Napoles was found negative for ovarian tumor as her lawyers had feared.

“It’s not alarming. That’s (her status) at this point in time. There’s no problem in her ovary,” Advincula added. “She doesn’t have to be confined. As a matter of fact, she can now go back to her detention cell.”

He said the result of the examination was different from the diagnosis of doctors at the Southern Luzon Hospital and Medical Center where she was rushed on Oct. 24, 2013, after complaining of nausea and abdominal pain.

No ovarian cyst

He said Napoles did not have an ovarian cyst, but doctors found a mass in her uterus.

“We have ruled out the possibility that she has ovarian cyst,” he said.

Asked if she needed other medical procedures to treat the mass in her uterus, Advincula said it was up to Napoles and her lawyers to ask the court to allow her to seek treatment.

He said Napoles might need tooth extraction after she complained of toothache.

She also informed the doctors about the pain in her right hand, he added.

CT scan

In a motion filed last week, her lawyer said Napoles underwent a CT scan after she experienced “profuse menstrual bleeding for nine consecutive days.”

Her endocrinologist said she was also suffering from “hypoglycemia, drastic weight loss, chest pains” and asked the court “that (Napoles) be placed under hospital arrest” at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City.

Besides undergoing transvaginal ultrasound, Advincula said Napoles also had pap smear and blood test.

He refused to disclose the full details of the medical checkup on Napoles, citing patient-doctor confidentiality.

Chief Inspector Michelle Daguno, the obstetrician-gynecologist who attended to Napoles, said the VIP detainee became worried after she was told that a mass was found in her uterus.

“We explained to Napoles her medical condition. She knows our diagnosis on her,” Advincula said.

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