Lawyer: Napoles suffering from heavy bleeding

MANILA, Philippines - Businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles is now having profuse heavy bleeding that she now has to wear diapers.

This was revealed Thursday by her lawyer, Fay Isaguirre Singson as the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda ordered the resetting of Thursday's hearing to Tuesday (March 11) at 10 a.m.

The court was supposed to hear Napoles' motion to undergo medical surgery and hospital confinement at the St. Luke's Medical Center at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig. The hearing of the motion was rescheduled as government prosecutors failed to attend the hearing as they were attending their Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.

The court also denied Singson's manifestation that Napoles be visited at her Fort Sto. Domingo detention area by Philippine National Police (PNP) physician, Chief Insp. Michelle Daguno saying Napoles is more comfortable with a female physician.

Judge Alameda said the duty medical officer of the Special Action Force (SAF) detailed at Fort Sto. Domingo could attend to her. Daguno was the one who performed the transvaginal ultrasound procedure on Napoles at the PNP General Hospital at Camp Crame last Feb. 26.

It was Daguno who also recommended that the cyst found in Napoles' uterus be surgically removed.

Judge Alameda also ordered that a physician from the PNP Health Service be present when the court hears Napoles' motion to undergo surgery and confinement at the St. Luke's Global Medical Center.

Last March 4, Napoles, through her lawyers asked the court to be allowed to have surgery and confinement at St. Luke's Global City.

In an 11-page 'Motion to Undergo Medical Surgery and Hospital Confinement' filed through her lawyers, Fay Isaguirre Singson and Evita Magnolia Ansaldo, the businesswoman asked that she be allowed to undergo surgery at the St. Luke's Medical Center to have the cyst found in her uterus removed and then be hospitalized for post-operative care.

In the motion filed with the court at 5:30 p.m., Napoles' lawyers said that while the cyst which was found in Napoles' uterus during the examination done at the Camp Crame General Hospital is not life-threatening, they argued that her doctors have advised that it be removed.

"While the accused-movant is thankful that her medical condtion is not life-threatening as quoted in the media to be according to the PNP (Philippine National Police), the fact remains however, that as per advice of the medical doctors, there is a need to undergo for ther removal of the cyst/mass in the accused-movant's abdomen. Failing in such could lead to a more serious health problem  which is stated earlier as hemmorhage or loss of blood resulting to anemia, which in turn, is fatal," said the motion.

Napoles' lawyers in their motion also requested that the surgery be done at the St. Luke's Medical Center as the hospital has the most advanced medical equipment in the country and technology such as robotic surgery and minimal invasive surgery.

The lawyers added that Napoles' trusted and personal obstetrician and gynecologist Dr. Elsie Badillo-Pascua also works at the St. Luke's and that she has the right to choose the hospital where to undergo a medical treatment and the physician to perform the procedure.

The lawyers also argued that there is an underlying gender issue in the kind of procedure Napoles will be undergoing.

"It is her reproductive organs that will be the subject of the medical operation. Only women suffer heavy menstrual bleeding. Only women can undergo total hysterectomy. Thus, even on this point lone, accused-movant is begging for the gender sensitivity of this honorable court as well as that of the state prosectors," the motion said.

On Feb. 26, Napoles had a transvaginal ultrasound at the Philippine National Police General Hospital in Camp Crame, Quezon City to check on a cyst suspected to be on her ovary. 

After the check-up, PNP Health Services director Chief Supt. Alejandro Advincula said the cyst was not in Napoles' ovary but in her uterus.