DOJ allows Rolito Go to seek treatment for cancer

MANILA, Philippines - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has allowed convicted killer Rolito Go to seek hospital treatment for cancer.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima on Sept. 11 approved Go’s request to undergo chemotherapy at the Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC) based on the recommendation of the convict’s attending surgeon Samuel Ang, head of the Medical and Dental Division of the New Bilibid Prison (NBP).

In approving the request, De Lima said Go would undergo chemotherapy for rectal cancer for three to five successive days a month. The treatment should be completed in four to six months, depending on the patient’s response.

The procedure would be administered by Juanita Lu Lim, an oncologist at the CGHMC.

De Lima said Go’s treatment at the CGHMC should strictly comply with prison rules and regulations. She directed the NBP to assign at least two personnel per shift to watch over Go on a three-shift basis.

The DOJ chief also directed the NBP to assign a senior custodial inspector who would conduct random inspection around the hospital while the treatment is ongoing. She ordered strict security for Go from NBP to hospital and back.

De Lima said Go would pay for his treatment expenses.

Meanwhile, the Maguan family slammed the DOJ for allowing Go to seek treatment at the CGHMC, saying the convict should be brought to a government hospital.

“If prisoner Go really needs medical treatment, the DOJ should bring him to a government hospital,” a sister of Go’s victim in a road rage incident 21 years ago said.

Grace Maguan said they are puzzled why the DOJ allowed Go to be transported to CGHMC in Manila instead of a government hospital near NBP in Muntinlupa City.

“What we knew is Go has a very influential relative who worked at CGHMC,” Grace said.

She urged Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Manuel Co to immediately bring Go back to his cell after the medical treatment.

Go was convicted for shooting to death Eldon Maguan over a traffic dispute in 1991. He recently hogged headlines when he went missing from the NBP on Aug. 14. He was eventually taken back to prison on Aug. 16, claiming he was kidnapped from his cell by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation. – With Non Alquitran