Estrada needs immediate surgery in US, American doctor says

Detained former President Joseph Estrada, who is on trial for corruption, needs immediate surgery in the US on his knees before his condition worsens, his American doctor said yesterday.

Estrada, who is expected to shortly file a formal plea to be released temporarily from detention on medical grounds, vowed he would not try to escape if the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan allows him to seek medical treatment in the US.

In an unaddressed letter dated July 20, orthopedic surgeon Christopher Mow of Richmond, California said the 64-year-old ousted leader "is suffering from osteoarthritis of both knees."

Mow, a clinical assistant professor at Stanford University, said he last examined Estrada in June at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) where Estrada has been confined since May.

Mow said Estrada’s condition appeared to have deteriorated since he first saw him in 1998.

"When first seen by me in 1998, I also advised that knee replacement surgery be strongly considered in order to give pain relief and maintain function," Mow said.

The planned surgery had been postponed several times in the last three years due to Estrada’s schedule while serving as president, Mow said.

Estrada needs to have surgery on both knees "before excessive damage occurs" and the operation needs to be done in the US "because of the latest equipment and implants that are available," the physician added.

"Certain specialized prostheses and equipment are likely to be required due to the severity of the condition," Mow said. "These materials are currently not available in the Philippines."

While he was president, Estrada also had cosmetic surgery performed on his eyes in the US.

Speaking on radio station dzBB earlier Tuesday, Estrada stressed he would immediately return after the operation to clear himself of charges that he plundered $80 million from state coffers during his 30-month presidency.

"I have no plans to escape and I will face all the charges that have been filed against me," Estrada said.

The deposed leader also denied he was behind calls for the removal of Justice Anacleto Badoy as chairman of the Sandiganbayan’s third division which is trying at least two criminal charges, one a capital offense, against the former president.

Badoy has accused Sandiganbayan Presiding Justice Francis Garchitorena of "pressuring" him to resign but the magistrate refused to divulge details because the matter was supposedly pending before the Supreme Court.

Garchitorena, for his part, denied he was pressuring Badoy to retire and said it was Justice Ricardo Ilarde who was the one who "suggested" that Badoy take a leave of absence.

If Badoy takes a leave, effectively inhibiting himself from hearing Estrada’s cases, Garchitorena is the next most senior magistrate who could take over the case, according to Sandiganbayan rules.

Garchitorena is chairman of the first division which is hearing the perjury case against Estrada. Government lawyers have accused him of favoring the former president when he ruled to exclude vital evidence that would supposedly prove that Estrada had perjured himself in official documents.

Estrada, on the other hand, has accused Badoy of being biased against him because the magistrate ruled against Estrada’s appeal for detention at his plush Greenhills home.

Meanwhile, Estrada’s Partido ng Masang Pilipino echoed their leader’s call to be allowed to leave for the US for medical treatment.

"If only for humanitarian reason and Sandiganbayan Associate Justice Anacleto Badoy’s admission of his strict adhesion to the Christian faith, the request of President Estrada should be given due course," said PMP spokesman Jesus Crispin Remulla. – Reports from Sandy Araneta