WHILE waiting for the investigation results of the Office of the Ombudsman on the controversy involving his rectal surgery, Jan-jan is undergoing counseling and therapy sponsored by the barangay officials of Barangay Basak-Pardo.
Jan-jan, backed with the records such as clinical form and the discharge instruction from the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), said he is the patient in the surgery. He asked only to be identified as Jan-jan because the incident happened on a January. The date of his operation is Jan. 3.
A video of his operation was uploaded to video-sharing site YouTube. It caught the attention of the public and the medical community because it showed doctors, nurses and nursing students laughing, jeering, and cheering before and after the perfume canister was removed from his rectum.
Jan-jan sought P6 million in damages from the medical team and the VSMMC last week.
To help Jan-jan cope with the trauma, Basak-Pardo Barangay Captain Dave Tumulak said the barangay organized a daily therapy for him since last week.
This therapy is a one-on-one counseling and spiritual guidance between Jan-jan and a social worker, a psychologist, and a priest at the barangay hall. Tumulak said these counselors sometimes do volunteer work and sometimes h e pays them honorarium.
Tumulak sees improvement in Jan-Jan's attitude towards others. He also allowed Jan-Jan to go out with his gay friends and attend a fiesta celebration in Dalaguete, Cebu yesterday.
"But we have to orient first his friends and even his family in order that they will know how to deal with him and help him cope with his trauma. Jan-jan has to ask permission from the barangay before going anywhere so that we can ensure he is being accompanied," Tumulak said in Bisaya.
The Office of the Ombudsman is set to release the result of its investigation on the matter this week. Once the result is out, Jan-jan and Tumulak will get a copy from the Ombudsman's office.
Meanwhile, Jan-jan's camp already identified the man they suspected to be the one who inserted the canister inside Jan-jan's rectum. But Tumulak refused to divulge his identity to the media since they are still monitoring him.
"Once we have ironed out the case against the doctors and nurses, we will focus on him and there will be legal action," he said. (NRC)
