Wednesday, April 16, 2008 Ombud may look into V. Sotto incident
THE Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) operating room scandal has reached the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Santiago yesterday read the newspaper articles about the incident and is determining whether the anti-graft office should open a fact-finding docket.
She wants the private offended party, Jan-jan to drop by her office and file a formal charge. Without it though, the anti-graft office can still launch an independent fact-finding investigation.
Among the things that need to be determined, Santiago said, is if he is indeed the person in the video on YouTube.
Also important, she said, is whether he is identifiable in the video and if the incident has caused him damage, actual or otherwise.
She said it is also important to determine if those involved in the taking of the video and uploading it on the Internet video-sharing site is a public official.
Santiago is a professor of criminal law at the University of San Carlos and has traveled to Sweden to conduct lectures on the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The video was posted on the Internet a week ago. It was posted by a person using the username joarcfranz and has attracted 1,031 visits.
A total of 59 comments have been posted on the video and most of them criticized the people in the operating room of the hospital.
Shout
It does not show the patient’s face. However, it shows the patient’s backside, with the rectum retracted with the use of clamps while the can of the perfume Black Suede was slowly being eased out.
A voice was heard shouting “baby out” just before the can was removed. The can was opened, its contents sprayed on the air, before being closed and placed in a receptacle.
The video briefly shows the face of the more than 10 people in the VSMMC operating room. Many of them wore scrub suits with surgical masks.
Jan-jan, in an interview with reporters, said a sex partner forced the can into him.
According to a VSMMC doctor who asked not to be named, the can got pushed beyond the sphincter muscle. As such, the patient could not push it out himself.
The X-ray image showed the can tilted to side, causing an obstruction in the patient’s orifice. (KNR)
