Erap seeks pass for regular visit to ailing mother

Detained former president Joseph Estrada on Wednesday asked the Sandiganbayan Special Division for permission to visit his ailing mother regularly at the San Juan Medical Center. Estrada’s mother has been confined in hospital since August 10 due to breathing difficulties and hypertension. Citing a medical bulletin from Dr. Lorenzo Hocson, Estrada’s personal physician, lawyer Rene Saguisag said Estrada’s 102-year-old mother, Doña Mary Ejercito, is now in a more precarious health condition. “Doña Mary’s condition is stable but guarded and I would appreciate it very much if you could seek the approval of the Sandiganbayan to allow [Estrada] to visit his mother on a regular basis because her condition can deteriorate at any given time," Hocson said in a letter. The doctor disclosed that the Estrada matriarch recently underwent three surgical procedures namely a tracheostomy, insertion of feeding jejunostomy tube and a cut down procedure to monitor the Central Venous pressure. A tracheostomy is a surgical procedure to create an opening through the neck into the trachea to provide an airway and to remove secretions from the lungs. Jejunostomy feeding tube is inserted through the abdominal wall directly to the small intestine to supply nourishment to the patient. “Without sounding morbid, we take this to mean that the Good Lord may call her any time," Saguisag said. “With some trepidation, we file this motion to accommodate a deep yearning of a son to be with a dearly beloved mother whose time may soon be up. Naturally, we want the visitation as frequently as possible," Saguisag said. The lawyer clarified that Estrada is willing to seek guidance from the prosecution and the Philippine National Police so that the best arrangement could be agreed upon to enable him to see his mother. The prosecution panel led by Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio has not posed any objection to any of Estrada’s previous requests to visit his mother. “May we go on record that we appreciate beyond our capacity to express the compassion, understanding and sympathy shown by this Honorable Court, the prosecution and the police," Saguisag said. - GMANews.TV