Rolito Go to leave prison to undergo chemotherapy

MANILA -- Convicted killer Rolito Go has been allowed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) to temporarily walk out of detention to undergo chemotherapy for his rectal cancer at the Chinese General Hospital in Manila.

Go received the green light from Justice Undersecretary Francisco Baraan, who responded affirmatively to the recommendation of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) officer-in-charge Manuel Co.

Co, meanwhile, leaned on the findings of Dr. Samuel Ang, acting head of the medical and dental division of the New Bilibid Prison, who stated that Go needs medical attention outside the facility.

According to Baraan, Go will undergo chemotherapy for three to five days a month for four to six consecutive months but this may change depending on the patient's response to the treatment. Dr. Juanita Lu Lim, an oncologist, will do the procedure.

Go is expected to shoulder the expenses of the treatment.

"This shall be subject to strict compliance with prison rules and regulations with the NBP detailing the manpower security complement consisting of two custodial personnel per shift on a three-shift basis with one senior custodial inspectorate who will go around the hospital to conduct random inspection and the escorting route will strictly from the NBP to hospital and back," the Endorsement Letter dated September 11 stated.

Go disappeared along with his nephew from the NBP last month. He claimed he was abducted, an angle that was given weight by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) based on its preliminary report.

Go was sentenced to life imprisonment but failed to immediately serve his jail term as he escaped from the Rizal Provincial Jail a few days before the trial court handed down its decision.

He was caught by police operatives on April 30, 1996 and was immediately brought to the NBP's maximum security facility to start serving his life sentence. (Virgil Lopez/Sunnex)