Court gives Zaldy Ampatuan one more night at hospital

(Updated 9:55 p.m.) The Quezon City court hearing the Maguindanao massacre case has allowed key suspect Zaldy Ampatuan to stay another night at the Philippine Heart Center, where he is being diagnosed for diabetes and coronary problems. In an order released Thursday night, Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 said Zaldy could be confined until Friday noon. She said an angiogram, which doctors had recommended for Zaldy, must be done before that time. "The request for hospital confinement is hereby granted in order that the necessary medical examination/test of said accused may be administered by Dr. Danilo Kuizon, who is hereby directed to complete the recommended medical examination/test including the angiogram not later than 12:00 o'clock noon on July 22, 2011. Upon completion thereof, the Jail Warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex is directed to immediately bring back the accused to Camp Bagong Diwa without further delay," Judge Solis-Reyes' order read. She noted that just like any other inmates, Zaldy "has the right to avail of medical, dental and other health services, and it is the Court's responsibility to see to it that he be not deprived thereof. For humanitarian reason, the Court deems it proper to act favorably on the request of said accused."
Zaldy, who was suspended as Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor after the Nov. 23, 2009 carnage that left 57 people dead, was brought to the PHC on Wednesday after he was allowed by the court to have a checkup. The visit, however, became an overnight stay, as doctors there said he was showing "signs of heart failure." Before the judge's order came out, members of the media staked out outside both gates of the medical facility to await the suspect's discharge. This, after Rosendo Dial, head of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), told reporters that he has instructed his personnel to bring Ampatuan back to his detention cell in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig City on Thursday night unless Judge Solis-Reyes ordered them otherwise. Judge Solis-Reyes' order did not sit well with prosecution lawyer Nena Santos. "Halata namang may niluluto ang depensa," she said. Santos claimed that Zaldy's attending physician, Dr. Danny Kuizon, was a friend of the suspect's lawyer, Howard Calleja. In Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda urged Judge Solis-Reyes to order the release of Zaldy's medical tests to verify his claims. "We should hope that since Zaldy is a person of special interest, the judge should allow the release of all the medical tests that Zaldy underwent and the results of those medical testes to see if there is factual basis to undergo an angiogram at this point," he said in a text message Thursday night. - with Amita O. Legaspi/KBK, GMA News