Andal Sr. transferred to V. Luna Hospital for treatment

MANILA, Philippines - A Quezon City court has ordered the transfer of murder suspect Andal Ampatuan Sr. to the V. Luna Medical Center for treatment of a skin disease he supposedly contracted while in detention.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 allowed Ampatuan to be examined for shingles or herpes zoster.

“The jail warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex - Camp Bagong Diwa is directed to transfer without delay, Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., to the Armed Forces Medical Center (V. Luna Medical Center) for treatment of his disease and further evaluation of his medical condition,” Solis-Reyes said in the order dated July 2.

The court also told Ampatuan’s attending physician to submit a copy of his medical evaluation and the treatment needed.

Ampatuan, through his lawyers, had asked the court to allow him to be examined at a tertiary hospital. He is among the 197 accused in the Maguindanao massacre that claimed the lives of 57 people.

Jail doctor Superintendent Claro Mundin had told the court that Ampatuan was suffering from shingles or herpes zoster, a skin disease in which rashes develop due to viral infection.

‘Trust DOJ’

Meantime, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima wants closer coordination between public and private prosecutors handling the Maguindanao massacre case in court after the killing of a potential witness last month.

She advised lawyer Harry Roque, counsel for families of 14 of the 57 victims in the carnage and who had handled the slain witness identified earlier as Suwaid Upham alias Jessie, to trust the Department of Justice and submit potential witnesses he would gather to be placed under witness protection program.  – With Edu Punay, Rose Tamayo-Tesoro