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Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Surgery scandal video at House probe 'shorter'
CEBU CITY -- The man whose surgery spread like a virus on the Internet questioned the quality of the video that the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) gave congressional investigators.
The House committee on human rights viewed Tuesday all three videos the VSMMC management submitted. One was the official video taken by Dr. Joseph Alfred de Leon for documentation purposes and the two others were unofficial versions being circulated on the Internet and through cellular phones.
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"How come the official video is shorter than the videos that are being circulated on the Internet?" asked Guiller Ceniza, lawyer for former surgery patient Genaro Jorolan.
"What we have observed is that the official video of Vicente Sotto looked altered," he also said.
Akbayan Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquiel said there should be no cover-up. She made the statement following the failure of VSMMC representatives to identify who sent them the unofficial videos.
The 39-year-old patient underwent an operation in the government hospital last January 3 to remove a body spray canister from his rectum. The procedure was captured on camera and uploaded to a video-sharing site, YouTube.
Ceniza, in an interview with Sun.Star Cebu, explained that the two unofficial videos showed the entire procedure, including the time when Dr. Philips Leo Arias allegedly held the canister.
"The official video did not show the entire procedure. The spraying was not shown, and Dr. Arias did admit to the spraying," said Ceniza.
Dr. Gerardo Aquino, hospital chief, told the committee the official video came from the hospital's Department of Surgery. The unofficial videos, on the other hand, came from the cell phones.
What's no longer clear is whose cell phone was used.
The VSMMC's Maricon Esparagoza also told the committee she could no longer recall who passed the video to her.
Congresswoman Baraquiel said that since the hospital committee that investigated the incident is already implicated in the case, what they can do is to help the House committee get accurate findings and make good recommendations for legislation.
She pushed for better regulation of the healthcare sector to ensure that ethical standards are upheld in the medical profession.
"We are looking at possible amendments to the Philippine Medical Act of 1959, which Attorney Ceniza said was outdated because it does not say anything about criminal acts that are punishable on the part of erring medical practitioners," Baraquiel said.
She also raised the need to enhance access to information, saying the patient was refused access several times to his medical records.
The passage of the anti-discrimination bill was also recommended.
"While the incident also points to the lack of safeguards in the implementation of ethical standards in hospitals, it likewise shows the climate of stigma often encountered by lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders," said the congresswoman.
Ceniza told the committee they have not yet filed criminal charges against the hospital staff involved in his client's surgery. They are looking into grave scandal and slander cases.
Ceniza also expressed disappointment with how the Department of Health (DOH) handled the case. "We are disgusted that the DOH only suspended three out of the five hospital personnel named in the surgery scandal."
Health Secretary Francisco Duque earlier identified five VSMMC doctors and nurses in the controversy: Dr. Arias, head surgeon; Dr. Angelo Alinawagan, assistant surgeon; Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, who is assigned to an adjacent operating room; nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal; and circulating nurse Carmina Sapio.
Without naming names, Ceniza said only three of the five doctors and nurses were given a 90-day preventive suspension.
When they transferred their administrative case to the Office of the Ombudsman, they named 14 respondents: 12 VSMMC staff and two clinical instructors from the University of the Philippines and Southwestern University. (EPB/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Baguio. (September 24, 2008 issue)
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