Andal Ampatuan Sr. to be well cared for at Quezon City military hospital

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) on Tuesday said multiple murder suspect Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his family could rest assured that he would be well taken care of inside a military hospital in Quezon City. Military spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta also assured the public, especially those worried about security concerns inside the AFP Medical Center, that the clan patriarch is tightly guarded in the hospital. "We are actually happy that it is (the former) V. Luna Hospital that was chosen, also because they have better facilities and better doctors in that medical facility," Mabanta said. Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 earlier ordered Ampatuan's transfer to the military hospital to be treated of his herpes zoster, a viral infection commonly known as shingles and is characterized by painful skin rashes. While the clan patriarch is a suspect in a high-profile multiple murder case, the AFP does not see the need to heighten security inside the AFPMC, Mabanta said. Although confined inside a military hospital, Andal Sr. is still being guarded by personnel from the Philippine National Police and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology. Mabanta said it was not unusual for the military to accommodate suspected criminals in its medical facilities. He said he has no knowledge whether Ampatuan was being kept inside a VIP room, but said there should be nothing wrong with that if it was meant to ensure his security. Ampatuan, several of his sons, and more than a hundreds members of their supposed private army are facing charges for the November 23 massacre that saw 57 people, including 32 journalists, being killed in a single day last year. Before being admitted to the military hospital, Ampatuan was being detained along with his accused relatives inside the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City. After his arrest in November 23, Ampatuan was kept under hospital arrest in Davao City. He, along with co-accused relatives, were brought to Manila in April. The clan patriarch's lawyers later requested the court hearing the multiple murder case to order their client's transfer to a medical facility due to medical reasons. - With Mark D. Merueñas/RJAB Jr/KBK, GMANews.TV