Arroyo lawyers ask court to allow house arrest

MANILA, Philippines - The lawyers of former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will ask the Pasay City Regional Trial Court to grant their ailing client house arrest as soon as her doctors declare that she is fit to go home.

This developed as a doctor of Arroyo allegedly found another problem on her spine last Monday evening.

Lawyer Jose Flaminiano told The STAR that after submitting to the court the medical records of the former president, they will file another motion, this time seeking the grant of house arrest while the case is pending in court.

Flaminiano said they will argue before the court that no less than President Aquino and the prosecutors from the Commission on Elections have no objection to house arrest for Arroyo, who is currently confined at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig City.

Pasay judge Jesus Mupas earlier granted “for humanitarian reasons” the motion of the defense lawyer during last Monday’s hearing for temporary hospital arrest for Arroyo, who has been charged with electoral sabotage in the 2007 national elections.

Another problem

Also yesterday, Arroyo’s legal spokesman Raul Lambino said there is another problem on his client’s spine.

Lambino said Arroyo’s orthopedic surgeon Mario Ver had advised the 64-year-old congresswoman to stay in her hospital bed and avoid movement for at least 48 hours because findings in her MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) on Monday showed that there is a problem in her lower spine.

The STAR called Ver’s office at SLMC for clarification but was informed by his secretary that the “doctor will not release any statements unless given clearance by his patient.”

‘GMA recuperating well’

Meanwhile, Health Secretary Enrique Ona categorically said yesterday that there is no need for Arroyo to go abroad for the treatment of her illness.

In a forum organized by the Philippine Information Agency, Ona noted that Arroyo is already “recuperating well” from the three operations that she underwent.

“The question now is – is there a medical condition that requires that she be treated abroad right away? My answer is none because she is recuperating well,” he said.

Ona also maintained that the treatment and the diagnostic procedure or the bone biopsy which Arroyo’s camp has been claiming that she needs to undergo are available in the Philippines.

The health chief said it is normal for Arroyo to lose weight and to feel weak because she underwent three major operations.

“The healing process for the bone that has been operated on is not the same as in other operations. It takes the bone three to five months to heal,” he said.

But Ona recognized that since Arroyo is still on intravenous fluid, “feeling weak and depressed,” she still has to stay in the hospital.

“Of course even you, if you are the one in that situation, you would be in the hospital because we don’t know if any serious complication may occur,” he said.

Confidentiality clause

Asked during the forum if the Department of Health (DOH) can compel Arroyo’s physicians to divulge their findings about her condition, Ona said this could not be done by the agency.

“We have what we call (patient’s) privacy. That means whatever your illness is, unless you allow it, your illness must be kept confidential. I’m not directly answering your question but it falls into that,” he said.

Ona acknowledged that since Arroyo is a public figure and her condition is of national interest, “it is better for the St. Luke’s Medical Center or her personal physician to issue a medical bulletin. That is the right process,” he said.

PMA probe

An official of the Philippine Medical Association (PMA), on the other hand, yesterday announced plans to form an independent body that would investigate the issuance of a certificate allegedly stating that there are no medical experts who could attend to Arroyo’s condition.

PMA governor lawyer-doctor Leo Olarte said, “Our plan is to create a committee to investigate the actual existence, whether or not, of the certification stating that there are no medical experts in the Philippines to treat the condition of GMA. If such certificate really exists, we would like to know if the contents are really true or false or whether it’s an exaggeration of what is true or false,” Olarte said.

There is reportedly a certificate allegedly stating that there are no medical experts who could attend to bone mineral disorder in the country.

Olarte explained that there was a need to clarify the issue because if it would be proven that such a certificate exists but it is contrary to reality, meaning that there are medical experts in the country, then it would create a “sweeping effect” on the image of the medical field in the country.

The independent panel would be made up of medical experts such as orthopedic surgeons, metabolic experts, and pathologists.

The committee has the power to summon medical professionals, including doctors of SLMC who are attending to the former president.

Olarte also said that it is only the PMA that has the authority to issue such a statement, being the accredited organization in the country.