EDITORIAL - A doctor’s tragedy

The death initially went unnoticed, but now that the tragic fate that befell one of the country’s top orthopedic surgeons has come to light, perhaps it can lead to positive changes.

Last Oct. 5, Dr. Benigno “Iggy” Agbayani Jr. died of a heart attack at the Manila City Jail, where he had been incarcerated since May 25 this year after the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction for reckless imprudence resulting in physical injuries to a patient, lawyer Saul Hofileña Jr. It was the closest to a lawsuit for medical malpractice – an offense that is not in the Philippine statute books.

Following surgery on his left knee by Agbayani in January 2006, Hofileña reportedly suffered an infection that left him unable to work for 30 days. He blamed the infection on Agbayani’s use of a surgical probe that he maintained was not sufficiently sterilized. The lawyer sued the doctor before the Manila Metropolitan Trial Court, where the case crawled along until 2013, when Judge Manuel Recto found Agbayani guilty and sentenced him to two years.

Agbayani appealed the case but lost reportedly after his lawyer, Arturo Tan, failed to file the required pleadings within the period set by the courts. In 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the conviction, but reduced the sentence to a maximum of one year. Last year, the SC dismissed Agbayani’s motion for reconsideration.

Colleagues have described Agbayani, who obtained his medical degree from the University of the Philippines, as one of the best surgeons, and lamented that he failed to properly argue his case in court. Members of the medical community, worried that the case is setting a precedent that will open them to legal harassment, want clarity on the court decisions, but so far, no formal petition along this line has been filed.

While waiting for such a petition for clarity, Congress can work with the medical community on proposed measures that will balance the rights of doctors and patients alike. Doctors have pointed out that there are always risks in every medical procedure, but perhaps there are also ways of enhancing protection for patients, without creating a chilling effect on the medical community or significantly raising the cost of physicians’ services. It is useful to remember that their professional oath binds a doctor “to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment.”