House committee probe into canister scandal ends Feb. 10

CEBU - The House committee on human rights is already terminating its investigation on the so-called Black Suede scandal at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center involving a homosexual florist whose video of his rectal surgery on the removal of a spray canister was posted on a video-sharing website.

The chairman of the committee, Lorenzo Tañada III, in a letter to regional director Medardo de Lemos of the National Bureau of Investigation, asking a copy of the result of their investigation, said that the committee will formally terminate its investigation on February 10.

The committee wanted an update of the investigation of the case in Cebu for it to be included in their resolution. The committee on human rights and the committee on civil service and professional regulation earlier conducted a joint investigation, in aid of legislation, into the controversy.

The investigation stemmed from a resolution filed by Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel which sought to look into the discriminatory, degrading, abusive, and humiliating treatment experienced by a rectal surgery patient in the hands of the doctors, nurses, and other medical attendants of the said hospital.

NBI supervising agent Jesus Manapat said that their office in Central Visayas has not conducted an investigation into it. Manapat said the VSMMC management earlier requested assistance from them to identify the person behind the uploading of the video in the Internet.

However, Manapat said it was the NBI Manila that conducted the investigation because it is the agency that has the capability and the training for such kind of investigation.

According to Manapat, they did not continue the investigation because the victim directly filed a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman Visayas against the five doctors and nurses of the VSMMC.

Manapat also said that based on their verification with the Ombudsman, the criminal and administrative cases against surgeon-in-charge Dr. Phillips Leo Arias and consultant Dr. Marlowe Parreno, Dr. Max Montecillo, assistant surgeon Dr. Angelo Liwanagan, and Dr. Alfred de Leon are still pending. — Fred P. Languido/MEEV   (THE FREEMAN)