Andal Jr. declines medical exam due to money woes

MANILA, Philippines - Maguindanao massacre suspect Andal Ampatuan Jr., who claimed to be suffering from a liver illness, has declined to undergo medical examination due to financial constraints, The STAR learned yesterday.

Senior Inspector Lloyd Gonzaga, warden of the Quezon City Jail Annex in Camp Bagong Diwa, told the judge handling the multiple murder case that Ampatuan has refused to be brought to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI) as he had no money to pay for the checkup.

Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes earlier granted the request of Ampatuan to be confined overnight at NKTI in order for him to undergo several medical procedures.

An NKTI doctor, who examined the suspect inside his detention cell, said Ampatuan is showing signs of fatty liver and early liver cirrhosis. 

His former lawyer, Salvador Panelo, urged the court in November last year to allow his client to undergo the tests as his family has a history of liver illnesses. 

He said Ampatuan’s father and co-accused, former Maguindanao governor Andal Sr., died in July due to liver cancer.

The request for the treatment was filed even as Ampatuan was supposed to take the witness stand for the continuation of his testimony in support of his bail petition.

He has yet to return for his testimony after Panelo quit as lawyer for the accused in December. 

Lawyer Andres Manuel yesterday entered his appearance for Ampatuan. 

Records show that it is not the first time that Ampatuan invoked financial constraints during the course of the trial. 

He also told the court in 2014 that he had no money to hire the services of a new lawyer after his former counsel, the Fortun Narvasa & Salazar law firm withdrew from the case. 

Panelo later took over, saying he offered his services for free. 

Last year, however, Ampatuan said he no longer wanted the services of Panelo and asked the judge for some time to find a new counsel.

The move was branded by the prosecution panel as a delaying tactic on the part of the suspect. 

Fifty-eight people, including 32 media practitioners, died in the Nov. 23, 2009 incident.

A total of 197 people, including prominent members of the Ampatuan family, were initially tagged as masterminds of the crime. 

The Ampatuans, once the most powerful political clan in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, denied involvement in the massacre.