No heart emergency in Gigi Reyes' case, prosecutors say

Government prosecutors on Monday said lawyer Gigi Reyes didn't need to be transferred to a bigger hospital as her health condition was not an emergency and “could be addressed and placed under control by the timely administration of appropriate medication.”

 

In their consolidated opposition to Reyes’ motion to be transferred to a tertiary hospital or detention facility with a tertiary hospital nearby, the prosecutors said the appeal of the former chief of staff of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile “[was] essentially a plea for special treatment.”

 

“It bears stressing that Reyes’ recent transfer to the Philippine Heart Center without a court order was not reported as preceded by any emergency,” the prosecution said.

 

The lawyers said that Reyes was taken to the national government hospital after complaining of chest pain and difficulty in breathing but an ECG (electrocardiogram) examination showed no significant changes from the previous ECG done.

 

The prosecutors said there was nothing on record to support the consideration of Dr. Anthony Lontoc, Reyes’ cardiologist, that there could be an acute coronary event.

 

“In other words, her heart was not the problem,” the prosecutors said.

 

They further said that Reyes as taken to the ICU “not because she needed critical care but because she needed to be monitored. In fact...her transfer to a tertiary hospital was only for further evaluation and management.”

 

“While the prosecution is not unmindful of Reyes’ situation, under the circumstances, it has difficulty accepting her allegations as true,” they said.

 

Reyes is facing plunder and graft charges as a co-accused of Enrile in the alleged pork barrel scam case.  She was initially detained at the Sandiganbayan's detention facility but was last week transferred to the female dormitory of the Bicutan jail in Taguig.

 

Reyes was hospitalized at the Taguig-Pateros District Hospital just hours after being brought to the Taguig detention facility.  She was eventually transferred to the heart center after complaining of chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

 

The government lawyers said Reyes’ hypertensive urgency and neurocirculatory asthenia “are hardly compelling reasons” to grant her request of transfer.

 

They said the most important treatment for high blood pressure was regular anti-hypertensive medication.   The lawyers added that Reyes' asthenia, characterized by shortness of breath, had been addressed with a prescription for diazepam IV or Valium.

 

“As a matter of fact, as indicated in her own motion, the Taguig Pateros District Hospital succeeded in stabilizing Reyes with only oxygen, hydration, and a dose of Diazepam,” the prosecution panel said.

 

The prosecutors added that there was no need for Reyes to be transferred to a tertiary hospital, a facility that provides full complement of healthcare services. 

 

They said tertiary care was a highly specialized medical care for an extended period of time and was only necessary for major operations with sub-specialists and when sophisticated intensive care facilities were required.

 

The prosecutors believe that Reyes was just avoiding detention in an ordinary cell as she had rejected it from the beginning.

 

They said that while in the custody of Sandiganbayan, Reyes did not experience any remarkable health incident but upon learning that she was to be detained in an ordinary facility unlike the other detainees in the plunder case, “she immediately expressed her objections and requested to be transferred to her facility of choice.”

 

“When her request was denied, she had her first health incident and was brought to a hospital. When her second request was held in abeyance pending submission by the prosecution of an opposition,s he complained of chest pain and was again brought to a hospital,” the lawyers said.

 

The prosecutors said Reyes’ health condition worsened towards the end of office hours and in the evening when the court could no longer issue an order.

 

“From the foregoing, it is apparent that Reyes refuses to be held in Camp Bagong Diwa and is prepared to wrest control over such matter from the court,” they said.

 

Reyes’ motions will be heard by the Sandiganbayan Third Division on July 15, 1:30 pm.

The court has summoned her attending physician and the medical directors of Taguig hospital and Philippine Health Center and the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to testify on her condition and her transfer to hospital. —NB, GMA News