Gonzales to go under the knife

National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales is set to undergo further medical tests, and may even undergo surgery if doctors find his coronary arteries to be blocked, Malacañang said yesterday.

Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye released the diagnosis of physicians at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC) in Quezon City, saying Gonzales needed to undergo a coronary angiogram tomorrow to see if his arteries are blocked.

"If there is a block, this will be widened by a balloon catheter (in a surgical procedure called angioplasty) and a stent will be placed to prevent narrowing again," PHC medical director Ludgerio Torres said in a certificate dated Sep. 23.

In a coronary angiogram, a doctor inserts a slender catheter into an artery in the arm or groin toward the heart and into the coronary arteries. Once the catheter tip is positioned appropriately, a dye that can be seen on x-rays is injected through the catheter and into the coronary arteries.

Should the arteries look irregular or narrowed, doctors perform angioplasty, in which a balloon catheter widens the passageway and reduces or eliminates blockages. Angioplasty aims to restore blood flow to blood-deprived heart tissue, reduce the need for medication, and eliminate or reduce the number of episodes of chest pain.

Torres said Gonzales had a "positive treadmill stress test for myocardial ischemia," meaning the heart was suffering from lack of oxygen "due to occlusion or blockage of the arteries supplying nutrition to the heart muscle."

"During strenuous exercise or stressful situation, the heart is overworked and needs more oxygen. If the oxygen supply will be inadequate, the heart may suffer stoppage or what we call heart attack," he said.

Gonzales remains in Senate custody for refusing to divulge details of the contract he signed with American lobby firm Venable LLP to seek funds for the Arroyo administration’s initiative to change the Charter.

The Senate cited Gonzales for contempt Wednesday and placed him under "medical arrest." He was rushed to the hospital due to high blood pressure and low blood sugar.

Bunye said Gonzales’ condition was not actually serious but he said he did not have details of President Arroyo’s visit on Friday afternoon.

The Palace had demanded the release of Gonzales from Senate custody, saying he is a member of an independent branch of government.

Gonzales’ sister, Violeta Gonzales-Tolentino, filed a petition for habeas corpus before the Supreme Court lasty Friday seeking his release from Senate detention.

Tolentino cited grave abuse of discretion on the part of the Senate and added that Gonzales’ continued detention would "impair national security and public safety" because he would be unable to do his job.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita had written the Senate seeking Gonzales’ immediate release, saying the latter’s inability to answer certain questions in the Senate hearing was based on national security and executive privilege.

"It exempts responsible officials from disclosing sensitive and delicate information. Executive privilege particularly applies to national security matters. This kind of information cannot be pried open by a co-equal branch of government," Ermita said.

He added that Gonzales’ stance "should not be taken as fealty to the areas of responsibilities allocated to the different departments of government by the framers of the Constitution."

Executive Session Pushed

Meanwhile, administration lawyers said Gonzales should be allowed to talk in an executive session, which is closed to the public.

"We believe Gonzales does not intend to keep important details from senators. It’s the manner of providing these details that must be considered since these may involve delicate information," Nueva Ecija Rep. Aurelio Umali said in a statement.

He pointed out the fact that Gonzales appeared before the Senate Blue Ribbon committee "showed his willingness to cooperate with the senators in their probe on the Venable contract."

In the same statement, Leyte Rep. Eduardo Veloso said they "believe there is no intention on the part of Gonzales to conceal the truth or facts from quizzing senators. Perhaps a middle ground can be reached to ensure completion of the probe."

Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Isidoro Real urged senators to release Gonzales in "deference to his stature as national security adviser and (on) humanitarian grounds."

"The intense (Senate) grilling affected his health condition, and until now he is in the hospital. We hope the senators will consider releasing him and allow the extraction of important details about Venable from him in a more relaxed way," he said.

Real expressed confidence that Gonzales can prove that the Venable LLP contract was aboveboard. "That’s why a full probe (of) the contract is needed to correct any misimpression that the contract was anomalous," he said. — With Delon Porcalla