Court allows 3 detained Ampatuan kin to visit Andal Sr in hospital

(Updated 4:39 p.m.) A Quezon City court has allowed three detained members of the Ampatuan clan to visit clan patriarch Andal Ampatuan Sr., who is comatose at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI).

Those allowed to visit the elder Ampatuan for two hours were his son Anwar Sr., grandson Anwar Jr and son-in-law/nephew Akmad.

"In view of the critical condition of accused Andal Ampatuan Sr as shown in the medical certificate dated July 13 and medical update dated July 14 issued by Dr. Jade Jamias of the NKTI and for humanitarian consideration, the urgent motion is hereby granted," said Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes of the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 221 in her resolution.

The three, however, did not include in their request the date they want to visit Andal Sr.

Andal Sr. and three of his sons and several members of his family stand as primary accused in the November 23, 2009 massacre of 58 people, including over 30 journalists, in Maguindanao province.

The clan patriarch has been comatose since Monday after suffering a heart attack, according to his legal counsel.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology has been instructed to bring the three "immediately back" to their detention cells at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig CIty after the hospital visit.

Andal Sr's two other sons, Zaldy and Andal Jr., had previously visited him on separate occasions.

Zaldy visited on July 2 after undergoing a myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) at the Philippine Heart Center, which is near the NKTI.

Andal Jr, meanwhile, visited his father on Tuesday, July 14. A court insider, however, said the former Datu Unsay, Maguindanao, mayor found the two-hour visit “not enough,” prompting him to file a second visitation request.

According to the NKTI, Andal Sr. only has months to live because his liver cancer is already at an advanced stage and that his chances of survival are dim.  —KBK, GMA News