Suspension of

doctors, nurses
sought for
operation
scandal

Submitted by:
N304 Group4

Cabatbat, Ruffa
Maniulit, Joel
Sese, Nico
Sicat, Kathleen

06 February 2012
 Suspension of doctors, nurses sought for
operation scandal
By Jhunnex Napallacan, Carine M. Asutilla
Cebu Daily News First Posted 14:13:00 05/07/2008 Filed Under: Crime, Law & Justice

CEBU CITY, Philippines. The patient who had a perfume canister removed from his
rectum at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) is seeking the
suspension of the medical staff that made fun of him during the surgery.

Guiller Ceniza, lawyer of patient Danilo (real name withheld), said his client would ask
the Office of the Ombudsman in the Visayas to place the seven doctors, five nurses and
two clinical instructors under preventive suspension pending investigation.

?That?s important to send a strong message, a stern warning, that what they did was not
good. But we will look at the individual participation because the others may simply have
been curious and did nothing. It’s just to be fair to the others, Ceniza said.

Ceniza said they would also file a separate criminal complaint for slander by deed or libel
with the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.

He said the investigation report of the Visayas Ombudsman delved only on the issue of
graft. It did not discuss slander by deed committed by the doctors and nurses during the
operation at the Vicente Sotto Medical Memorial Center (VSMMC).

Ceniza said they were serious in their plan to file a civil suit for damages before the
Regional Trial Court.

Ceniza said it was good that they delayed the filing of civil case because now, they had
the names of the medical staff based on the evaluation report filed by the Visayas
Ombudsman.

Last Monday, the Visayas Ombudsman approved the upgrading of the complaint against
the medical staff after finding reasonable ground to charge seven doctors, five nurses and
two clinical instructors, with violation of Section 3 (e) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-graft
and Corrupt Practices Act).

The section holds a person liable for causing any undue injury to any party, including the
government, or giving any private party any unwarranted benefits, advantage or
preference in the discharge of his official administrative or judicial functions through
manifest partiality, evident bad faith or gross inexcusable negligence. This provision shall
apply to officers and employees of offices or government corporations charged with the
grant of licenses or permits or other concessions.
Any person found guilty of an offense defined by RA 3019 faces a prison term from one
to 10 years.

Except for the two clinical instructors who were not personnel of the VSMMC, the rest
would face an administrative case for grave misconduct, the Ombudsman said in its final
evaluation report on the incident.

The investigation and the filing of charges stemmed from the uploading of the rectal
surgery video to the video sharing website YouTube, which showed the doctors and
nurses laughing and making fun of Danilo as they removed a perfume canister from his
rectum.

The seven doctors are surgeon-in-charge Dr. Phillips Leo Arias; Department of Surgery
consultant, Dr. Marlowe B. Parreno; assistant surgeon, Dr. Angelo Linawagan; Dr.
Joseph Alfred B. de Leon, who was assigned to handle documentation; resident
anesthesiologist, Dr. Joanne Mae M. Merilles; Department of Anesthesiology consultant
Dr. Serapio T. Salazar; and Dr. Max Joseph P. Montecillo of the Department of Surgery.

The Ombudsman identified the five nurses as operating room nurse supervisor Isabelita
R. Remulta; circulating nurse Carmenia C. Sapio; operating room nurse supervisor
Consuelo B. Tecling; nurse-on call Ida B. Sumayang; and nursing attendant Rosemarie
M. Villareal.

The two clinical instructors were Mr. A. Oplado for the University of Southern
Philippines and Ramon Penley Monching M. Pandaan for the Southwestern University.

Merlo Bagano, legal counsel of Arias, said he would not comment on the Ombudsman's
findings as he had yet to receive an official copy of the report.

The evaluation report of the Visayas Ombudsman only proved that the investigation
conducted by the hospital was done to protect some people, said Ceniza.

He said the hospital only recommended the filing of administrative charges against a few
people whom it did not name in a press conference. Other personnel were given a stern
warning, he added.

Ceniza said the names eventually cropped up when Health Secretary Francisco Duque III
mentioned some of them.

Now, the Ombudsman even identified 14 people.

This means that the investigation of VSMMC cannot be trusted. It can be categorized as a
whitewash, covering up favored personalities so that they would not be hit by any
liabilities, Ceniza said.
 Civil Service Commission declares suspension vs. nurse on
canister scandal illegal
(The Freeman) Updated February 05, 2009 12:00 AM

CEBU - The Civil Service Commission has declared as illegal the three-month
suspension of a nurse at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center who was allegedly
involved in the controversial canister scandal.

The CSC also ordered the hospital management to pay nurse Carmina Sapio her back
wages and to let her return to work.

Lawyer Joselito Alu, legal counsel of Sapio, said they already received the copy of the
final decision that was rendered by the head office of Civil Service Commission in
Manila.He explained that the decision said the VSMMC has no jurisdiction and the case
is not part of the fact its finding committee, especially the imposition of suspension on
Sapio, who was just a circulating nurse at that time when the controversial operation was
done.

To recall, Alu filed a petition questioning the jurisdiction of the hospital management on
the case because it is the Office of the Ombudsman that holds the criminal case
pertaining to the so-called “Cebu canister scandal.”But because Sapio has already served
the suspension for 30 days, CSC ordered the VSMMC to pay Sapio her back wages
during the time that she was suspended.

A 39-year-old homosexual, who underwent minor operation at VSMMC on January 3,

2008 has came out in the open a few months after he underwent the medical procedure
and expressed his intention to file charges against the doctors and medical staffs of the
hospital who allegedly made fun of him and circulated the video of him while he was
undergoing operation.

The video footage, which runs for about three minutes, shows an operating team of more
than 10 people shouting and laughing while the operation was being performed. The
video became controversial after it was circulated in the Internet and cell phones.The
doctors and nurses were identified as head surgeon Philips Leo Arias, assistant surgeons
Angelo Linawagan and Max Joseph Montecillo, nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal,
and circulating Nurse Carmina Sapio.

DOH Secretary Francisco Duque III said the three doctors and two nurses would be
facing charges for violating hospital protocol together with Dr. Marlowe Parreño,
VSMMC consultant; Isabelita Remulta, senior operating room nurse supervisor;
Consuelo Tecling, senior operating room nurse and Ida Sumayang, senior operating room
nurse.

All of them are now back to work after serving months of suspension that was
imposed by the DOH. — Johanna Natavio/WAB (THE FREEMAN)