Doctor of ailing ex-general wants ‘hotel arrest’

Faced with a choice between confinement in a hospital or a hotel, former major general Carlos Garcia’s doctor told the Sandiganbayan yesterday that a "hotel arrest" would be much better for his patient.

Pulmonologist Noel Gaurano of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) Medical Center told Justice Francisco Villaruz that it was "preferable" for his patient to be "confined in a hotel" in reply to Villaruz’s question on whether a hotel, instead of a hospital, would be better for Garcia.

The AFP general surgeon’s candid answer drew laughter from people in the courtroom, where Garcia’s lawyers had requested his transfer to a hospital for the treatment of his obstructive sleep apnea, which prosecutors say is nothing but a common snoring problem.

"Almost everybody is afflicted with apnea. This is a common ailment even among children," argued Chief Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio, who opposed the transfer and insisted that Garcia remain under detention at the Philippine National Police (PNP) Custodial Center at Camp Crame, where he has been since Wednesday afternoon.

Last Monday, the Sandiganbayan had ordered Garcia’s arrest and transfer from Camp Aguinaldo, which houses the headquarters of the AFP, to Camp Crame.

Gaurano, through Garcia’s chief counsel Jose Bautista, was trying to convince the justices of the anti-graft court’s second division to allow Garcia to be confined in a military hospital because his patient’s illness could be fatal.

"If apnea is not controlled and there will be hypertension, then it (apnea) could be life-threatening," Gaurano testified, noting that the condition decreases the supply of oxygen, particularly to the brain, which could result in death.

Garcia faces four counts of plunder, a non-bailable charge, after he allegedly accumulated P303.2 million in ill-gotten wealth during his three-year term as AFP’s comptroller.

As Garcia’s doctor since 2001, Gaurano said he had recommended that the former military general "lose weight" through exercise and stop smoking so that his hypertension and apnea would not take a turn for the worse.

Bautista, a former Makati judge, told reporters before the start of the hearing last Friday that his client should be brought to a medical facility where machines can monitor his breathing while asleep.

"It’s a sort of emergency. He (has) a life-threatening condition," he said, adding that left unattended, apnea can build up a fatal amount of carbon dioxide in the brain.

Garcia, 56, was rushed to the PNP Hospital after complaining of chest pains last Thursday, but was returned to his cell at the PNP Custodian Center when doctors found nothing wrong with him except for his complaint of breathing difficulties.

The Sandiganbayan granted Villa-Ignacio’s request that Garcia be transferred from the Intelligence Services of the AFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo to Camp Crame after the chief prosecutor said apnea was only a snoring problem that didn’t warrant his continued detention at the ISAFP compound.

Garcia also faces charges before the military court for failing to declare several cars and properties in the Philippines and the United States in his annual statements of assets, liabilities and net worth during his three-year tenure as AFP comptroller and for holding a US residency visa while serving in the military.