Estrada to get eye treatment in RP

It’s final: deposed President Joseph Estrada is not flying to the United States to have eye surgery. Instead, his US-based doctor will come here to operate on him.

The ousted leader said yesterday that Filipino eye specialist Felipe Tolentino will arrive in the country to operate on his glaucoma.

"As I said before, I was born here, I live here and I will die here," Estrada stressed to dispel fears that he merely wants to go abroad to avoid prosecution on graft and plunder charges.

Estrada said he several times postponed his scheduled eye surgery when he was still in Malacañang since he was busy with the more pressing affairs of government.

Now that he is "on leave" from work, he thought it may be the right time to go under the knife and have his eye cured.

Estrada left Malacañang on Jan. 20 at the height of street protests which demanded his ouster. He insists he is still president although former Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has officially replaced him.

His relatives say that based on the latest examination done on Estrada, the glaucoma in his eye has already ripened and should now be immediately removed.

The ailment was diagnosed last year and Estrada had an operation in the US on July 27. Tolentino, his eye surgeon, removed excess skin growth on his left eyelid.

The schedule of Estrada’s next operation is yet to be finalized, his relatives said.

However, Justice Secretary Hernando Perez reiterated his offer to the deposed leader to be operated on – free of charge – by his brother who is an expert ophthalmologist.

Perez’s brother Abelardo, who is based in Manila, is said to be willing to operate on Estrada’s eye anytime. Perez said he has consulted with members of the Ophthalmologists Association of the Philippines and was informed that Estrada’s eye problem is not life-threatening and does not require him to go abroad.

"If he wants, my brother, Dr. Abelardo Perez, is in fact offering his services for free," he said.

Estrada is banned from leaving the country while he is being investigated on several cases of corruption. He is being accused of amassing billions of unexplained wealth in his 30 months in office.