Murder suspect Zaldy asks for extension of hospital stay

UPDATED 12:10 p.m. - Despite being declared to have a "non-critical" and "insignificant" heart problem, murder suspect Zaldy Ampatuan still asked a Quezon City court to indefinitely extend his hospital confinement due to wounds from an angiogram. Lawyer Howard Calleja, one of the legal counsels of Zaldy, said they have already submitted to the court results of an angiogram conducted on the suspended governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). "Sana nga pumayag na si Judge [sa extension] kasi malapit na mag-12," Calleja said. Calleja was referring to the noon deadline set by the judge in a ruling on Thursday for Zaldy to undergo an angiogram and be brought back to the Quezon City Jail Annex in Taguig City. Zaldy is one of the 197 suspects in the killing of 57 people in Maguindanao in November 2009. A 58th victim is still missing. Zaldy is said to be suffering from diabetes and coronary diseases, and was allegedly showing signs of heart faillure according to his attending physician at the PHC. As of this posting, Solis-Reyes of the Regional Trial Court is still going over Zaldy's angiogram results. "We wanted to inform the judge of the gravity and necessity of extending the confinement of my client," Calleja said immediately after filing the ex-parte manifestation at about 11:20 a.m. Calleja refused to show Kuizon's actual recommendation, only giving copies of the doctor's letter of request to the judge. A copy of the recommendation obtained by GMA News Online, however, showed that Zaldy's coronary heart disease is "non-critical." Doctor's recommendation The two-page manifestation came with a letter from Zaldy's attending physician Danny Kuizon, recommending Zaldy's further confinement. "It has been determined that he [Zaldy] has Insignificant Coronary Heart Disease and a low flow from the angiogram indicating small vessel disease of the vascular bed and possible due to his Diabetes Mellitus," the doctor said. "Standard care in this situation on the Philippine heart Center, and as elsewhere, is for the patient to stay in the hospital at least overnight but may be extended should complications develop," he further said. Kuizon said Zaldy has to "stay in bed for six hours with a sand bag on his right groin to prevent bleeding from the puncture site." Meanwhile, private prosecutor Harry Roque urged Zaldy's camp to meet the 12 noon-deadline. "We need to uphold the integrity of the judicial system. They have to comply with the noon order. Otherwise, it will cast a negative image of the justice system," he said. - VVP, GMA News