Erap: I can’t afford US doctor’s fee

Jailed former President Joseph Estrada still wants to undergo knee surgery in the United States but is scouting for another surgeon in other countries because his American doctor is allegedly overcharging him.

Estrada, who is detained at an Army training camp in Tanay, Rizal, told the Sandiganbayan that he is negotiating to reduce the $1.2-million fee US surgeon Christopher Mow was charging him.

Estrada, 66, has osteoarthritis, torn knee ligaments and multiple slipped discs which doctors said could deteriorate if his knee condition does not improve. He also has some eye ailments.

"I cannot afford Mow’s fee. We find it very exorbitant. That’s why we are checking on the biodata of other doctors in the US," Estrada told the Sandiganbayan special division hearing the corruption charges against him.

Estrada informed the court he asked Mow to conduct the surgery in a new hospital in Europe or even Hong Kong but he is also scouting for new doctors in Canada, Japan or Hong Kong because of Mow’s "exorbitant" fee.

But the court said Estrada will have to file another petition if he wants to go to another country.

Estrada also told the court that he wanted to pursue medical treatment in the US, whether in Mow’s clinic in California or under other doctors in New York, but the US Embassy has yet to issue him a visa.

The former president later admitted, however, that he has not submitted his visa application because he was told by a US Embassy official to hold his application until after the US State Department has cleared the issuance of a visa.

Estrada also denied speculations that he will jump the P1-million travel bond he will have to pay before he is allowed to go to the US for a three-month medical furlough with four policemen guarding him at his expense.

"I was born here. I have been mayor, senator, vice president and president, and I will die here," Estrada told the court.

"My health is my priority," he added, also denying his own aides’ declaration that he would forgo the medical trip until after the May 10 elections so he could help his friend Fernando Poe Jr. win the presidential elections.

"Whether I am here or not, FPJ will surely win," he said, referring to Poe’s initials.

The three-member special division, headed by Minita Chico-Nazario, gave Estrada 10 days to submit his US itinerary, which must include the names of specific hospitals and doctors and a timetable.

Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye welcomed Estrada’s "reaffirmation" of his desire to pursue his medical leave.

"We are happy with this decision of former President Estrada to have his knees treated already. We hope he gets well soon and we are together with many of his friends and supporters in praying for his speedy recovery," Bunye said.

The prosecution, on the other hand, reiterated its objection to Estrada’s departure because Estrada allegedly did not comply with the conditions of the medical furlough the court granted on Dec. 23 and is to expire on March 31.

"Its reason for being has already vanished. The rationale has disappeared. There is no legal and factual basis. There is no specific schedule. No specific doctor. No specific hospital. No specific country," said prosecutor Dennis Villa Ignacio.

"The recourse now is to recall the Dec. 23 resolution. To date, the reason for the resolution has vanished," Villa Ignacio added. — With Marichu Villanueva, AP, AFP