IS former Medellin mayor Ricardo Ramirez receiving special treatment while being confined in a hospital?
A source told SunStar Cebu that Ramirez is confined in the Bogo-Medellin Medical Center (BMMC) despite his arrest for illegal possession of firearms, ammunition and drug paraphernalia last year.
Ramirez is reportedly enjoying his stay at the hospital, the source added.
But Ramirez’s lawyer, Atty. Inocencio Dela Cerna, told SunStar Cebu that Ramirez’s hospital confinement has court approval.
After Ramirez was admitted to the Cebu Doctors’ Hospital (CDH) last August, Dela Cerna filed a motion before Regional Trial Court (RTC) Bogo City Judge Antonio Marigomen to allow his client’s transfer to the BMMC.
Ramirez, who is a first-term councilor, was supposed to be detained at the Medellin Municipal Jail following his arrest until he was rushed to the city when his blood pressure shot up.
Dela Cerna said that doctors need to monitor his condition.
The lawyer urged those complaining to file a motion in court.
“He was confined in a hospital based on a valid court order. They should not be questioning former mayor Ramirez but the court itself,” Dela Cerna said in Cebuano.
Last August, Ramirez underwent a checkup at BMMC after his lower extremities turned purple while he was confined at the Medellin Municipal Jail. That same week, he was brought to CDH after complaining of chest pains.
Dela Cerna said they are tackling the petition to grant Ramirez bail before Marigomen’s sala.
Last July, Ramirez was arrested by operatives of the Provincial Intelligence Branch.
Police recovered eight firearms, several ammunition and magazines inside Ramirez’s house in Barangay Caputatan Sur, Medellin.
Police also found drug paraphernalia, including a digital weighing scale, tinfoil and a tooter, inside the master bedroom.
Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Jerome Abarca didn’t recommend bail for Ramirez. (JKV)