Jail warden seeks regular check-up for Andal Sr, Zaldy

The warden of the jail where the suspects in the Maguidnanao massacre are detained has requested regular medical check-ups for suspects Andal Ampatuan Sr. and his son Rizaldy. In a letter dated June 9, Senior Inspector Bernardino Edgar Camus, officer-in-charge jail warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Taguig City, told the court that the medical check-ups were necessary because the two are suffering from a number of illnesses. In the letter addressed to Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court Branch 221, Camus said Zaldy, who is former governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), was reportedly suffering from diabetes. On the other hand, Andal Sr., patriarch of the Ampatuan political family and former Maguindanao governor, was was allegedly suffering from diabetes, hypertension, asthma, osteoarthritis, external hemoroids, and has a history of chronic obstructive pulmonary disase, Camus said. Camus did not specify in the letter how he learned about the father and son's illnesses. "Though they are stable now, their condition can abruptly change due to weather conditions and other factors that are subject to infections and other health problems like fever, cough, colds, allergy and etc which can aggravate their health conditions," the warden said. He added that the clan patriarch has recently been having difficulty in breathing. Andal Sr.'s new doctor Camus requested that Chief Inspector Agnes Aglipay, BJMP-National Capital Region Health Service Unit, conduct the regular check-up on the father and son. Aglipay was the replacement of Dr. Victoria Valeria, who was sacked in May for making an erroneous medical report on Andal Sr. In her report, Valeria recommended that Andal Sr. be further examined by his attending physician, a certain Glenn Santos of the Makati Medical Center, because the medication prescribed for the suspect's health problem did not seem to be working. However, a check by the prosecution with MMC showed that there was no attending physician by the name of Dr. Glenn Santos there. In her report, Valeria also said the swelling — caused by osteoarthritis — was on Andal Sr.'s left ankle joint, and not on his right foot. In a surprise inspection by Interior Sec. Jesse Robredo, Zaldy told the secretary he has been insulin-dependent since 2001 due to his diabetes. Zaldy has since been tranferred to a separate cell (cell number 6), away from that where the other accused including his father and brothers are locked away (cell number 1). - VVP, GMA News