Surgery scandal victim files admin case vs docs

The victim in the so-called Black Suede Scandal yesterday filed administrative complaints against five doctors of Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) before the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).

In an interview, the victim’s legal counsel Guillen Ceniza said the three complaints will depend upon the nature of the participation by each of the respondent in the operation to remove a spray canister from the victim’s rectum last January.

The main premise of the administrative charges stemmed from the alleged violation of the code of ethics, gross negligence, and unethical conduct in the removal of the spray canister.

The administrative complaints were filed against surgeon-in-charge Dr. Phillips Leo Arias and consultant Dr. Marlowe Parreno.

Other respondents also include Dr. Max Montecillo, assistant surgeon Dr. Angelo Liwanagan and Dr. Alfred de Leon.

Ceniza said the charges will determine whether the respondents are still fit to carry the licenses granted to them by the PRC.

The charges filed at the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas, Ceniza said, focused on the respondents’ employment with the government.

Ceniza said he and his collaborating counsel Karen Quiñanola-Gonzalez are also preparing the administrative charges against the nurses and other medical staff who were involved in the controversial procedure.

“We still have to be finalizing the details so as to determine also the correct charge depending on their nurses’ level of participation,” Ceniza said.

The five nurses identified in the investigation of the Department of Health and the Ombudsman are Isabelita Remulta, operating room nurse supervisor; Carmenia Sapio, circulating nurse; Consuelo Tecling, operating room nurse supervisor; Ida Sumayang, the nurse on call; and Rosemarie Villareal, the nursing attendant. — Ferliza C. Contratista/LPM