A Quezon City court has granted the request of an accused in the 2009 Maguindanao massacre case for a hospital furlough to correct a medical procedure done on him in 2006.
Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes granted the plea of former Datu Unsay Councilor Abedin Alamada to be allowed to seek medical treatment at the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) for pain caused by complications from the surgery.
In a two-page order on July 8, Reyes said that after examining Alamada, roving Bureau of Jail Management and Penology doctor Senior Insp. Jaime Claveria Jr. recommended his referral聽 to the urology department of the nearest government hospital for the removal of a 鈥渄ouble J stent.鈥�
A double J stent is a soft tube placed in the ureter to prevent or relieve blockage during surgery. The ureter channels urine from the kidneys to the bladder.
Alamada had said in his urgent motion filed on July 1 that he had his right kidney surgically removed in 2006 and a tube was attached to his ureter which caused him severe pain when it moved.
He asked the court to allow his temporary release from detention at the Quezon City Jail annex at Camp Bagong Diwa, Taguig City, to have the tube removed at the PGH.
The judge directed the jail鈥檚 OIC to coordinate with the PGH and transport Alamada to the hospital and return him 鈥渨ithout delay鈥� upon completion of the treatment.
Alamada is among 195 persons charged with multiple murder in the Nov. 23, 2009, massacre of 58 persons, 32 of them media workers, in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao. The top accused are members of the Ampatuan clan. Alamada had headed the civilian volunteer organization (CVO) in the town.
Earlier, another detained accused, Akmad 鈥淭ato鈥� Ampatuan, a son-in-law of clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., had asked the court to allow him to seek medical attention at the PGH due to 鈥渇requent fatigue, weakness and dizziness.鈥�
Without resolving Ampatuan鈥檚 request, Judge Reyes merely noted a July 4 letter informing the court that Claveria had evaluated Ampatuan鈥檚 medical test results and found them to be 鈥渨ithin normal limits.鈥� She noted the jail doctor鈥檚 recommendation that Ampatuan lose weight.