Estrada willing to defer medical treatment in US to avoid controversy

Ousted President Joseph Estrada said yesterday he is willing to put off his request to seek medical treatment for his knees and eyes in the United States to avoid stirring up a controversy.

"If they don’t want me to go, then I won’t go," Estrada said in a radio interview after his request to be allowed to travel abroad drew sharp criticisms from many sectors and aroused suspicion that it could be a ploy to escape prosecution.

Estrada, who is being detained at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City while being tried for the capital offense of plunder, had requested the Sandiganbayan to allow him to go abroad for treatment of pain in his knees and blurred vision.

However, he said on radio that he was willing to put off the trip, saying "I can stand this for another year. This country has enough problems. Let us not worry about my knees."

Estrada’s doctor, who is based at the Stanford University Medical Center, earlier said the 64-year-old former movie actor was suffering from "osteoarthritis of both knees" and needed specialized prostheses and implants only available in the United States.

The deposed leader said he had been undergoing treatment for his knees since 1998 but had delayed operation first to campaign for the presidency that year and then because of his aborted impeachment trial late last year. He was ousted in January and has been detained since April 26.

Estrada said his US-based doctor could not treat him in the country because he needed certain equipment which could not be brought here.

He also said he was suffering from cataracts, adding "I cannot see things beyond eight meters. I think it might be glaucoma."

However, he said his eye doctor had facilities in the country which could be used to treat him.

Estrada’s lawyer Cleofe Versola said yesterday they would ask the Sandiganbayan to allow him to undergo a minor operation at home to remove a cyst in his left eye.

Pain in Estrada’s eyes prompted Sandiganbayan third division chairman Associate Justice Anacleto Badoy Jr. to allow him to skip the last two hearings of his corruption trial.

In a related development, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran opposed Estrada’s planned trip for medical treatment to the US, saying the Philippines has many world-class doctors he could consult.

"There is no need for him to go abroad for medical treatment. It’s not all like he’s being neglected here. On the contrary, he is being treated very well by Malacañang," Beltran said.

He said that if Estrada complained of backward medical facilities in the country, he has no one to blame but himself, his predecessors and the current administration because of the severe budget cuts for health services. — Romel Bagares, Sandy Araneta