Thursday, August 23, 2007 Estrada matriarch 'in unstable condition'
* Erap seeks permission to visit ma
DETAINED former President Joseph Estrada has asked the Sandiganbayan Special Division to allow him to visit his ailing 102-year-old mother, Doņa Mary Marcelo Ejercito, at the hospital "as soon as possible."
In a two-page urgent motion filed through his lawyer Rene Saguisag, Estrada underscored the need for him to visit his mother, who has been confined at the San Juan Medical Center (SJMC) since August 16 and is reportedly connected to a respirator.
"This seems to be the first time she was confined in a hospital that long, is connected to a respirator, with her condition being unstable," Estrada said.
Attached to the motion was the letter of Dr. Lorenzo Hocson, director of the SJMC and family physician of the Ejercitos, informing Saguisag about Doņa Mary's condition.
According to Hocson, the Ejercito matriarch was rushed to the hospital because of fever and cough. Doņa Mary, he added, was diagnosed to have pneumonia and hypertension.
"About three days ago (or August 17) she developed difficulty of breathing and was connected to a respirator," Hocson said in his letter dated August 20.
"Her condition is quite unstable at the moment and I reported this to President Estrada," the doctor told Saguisag.
The Special Division, chaired by Presiding Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, gave the PNP until Thursday to reply to Estrada's motion.
The court is in the process of writing its most awaited decision on Estrada's plunder case. (Sunnex)
