4 more VSMMC workers in canister scandal named

The Department of Health has named four more medical workers of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center who were among those purportedly involved in what has come to be called the "canister scandal" that circulated on cellular phones and the YouTube recently.

Lawyer Ronald de Vera of the DOH legal services said consultant Dr. Marlowe Parreño, operating room nurse supervisor Isabelita Remulta, senior operating room nurse Consuelo Tecling, and senior operating room nurse on-call Ida Sumayang have been sent show-cause letters by the VSMMC asking them to explain their sides.

Last week, DOH initially identified five of the estimated 15 members of the surgical team who operated on a patient to remove a perfume canister from his rectum.

They were head surgeon Dr. Philips Leo Arias, assistant surgeons Dr. Angelo Linawagan and Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal, and circulating nurse Carmina Sapio.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque said that the doctors were just carried away by their emotions with the success of the operation but is firm on his stand that "the way they acted was never an excuse."

Last Monday, the officials of the VSMMC formally sought the assistance of the National Bureau of Investigation to identify the person who uploaded the footage of the operation on "Danilo" on a video-sharing network over at the Internet.

Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr., VSMMC chief, handed his letter-request to NBI executive officer Ernesto Macabare past 9 a.m. on Monday.

"In as much as the identity of the said person is not known, we would like to solicit assistance. With your expertise, this medical center believes that you will be of help to us," Aquino said in the one-page letter. NBI-7 regional director Medardo de Lemos said they would forward the letter-request of Aquino to the Cyber Crime Division of the NBI-Central Office.

They would also attach in the letter-request the printed materials taken from the YouTube about the "Black Suede Scandal" and a compact disc of it which was submitted by Aquino on Monday afternoon.

De Lemos said the NBI-7 has no capability to investigate cyber crimes because they have no technical experts.

He said that last week, he already informed the Cyber Crime Division that the VSMMC will seek their assistance based on a newspaper report.

Aquino told reporters that they sought the assistance of the NBI because he wants to confirm the result of the hospital's fact-finding investigation that it was not a medical staff who had uploaded the video of the procedure conducted on Danilo in removing the foreign object from his anal canal.

"We will seek technical assistance because we have no expertise on our part," Aquino said.

When asked about the male intern who allegedly uploaded the video in the YouTube, Aquino said they had already made their recommendations.

However, Aquino said they will not dwell more on the alleged male intern. He said their concern is on putting a stop to the allegations against VSMMC.

Aquino added that they did not worry about Danilo's demand of P6 million in damages since the issue is still subject to formal investigation.

He said the medical staff was assured that their benefits will not be affected by the prevailing issue. - Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV