Napoles asks for longer stay at Makati hospital

MANILA, Philippines - Businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles has asked the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 150 to be allowed to stay at the Ospital ng Makati (Osmak) until all her routine and regular check-ups are concluded.

Napoles’ lawyers Fay Isagiurre Singson and Evita Magnolia Ansaldo filed the seven-page “Very Urgent Ex Parte Motion To Observe The Status Quo Ante With Motion For Further Hospital Confinement Due To Medical Reasons” with the court late Tuesday afternoon.

The motion says that although Napoles’ doctors have issued a medical bulletin last May 6, advising that she is now given clearance to be clinically discharged from the Osmak, she stil needs to undergo checkups once-a-week for one month, once every two weeks for the succeeding month and a check-up a month thereafter.

The lawyers also asked that Napoles be made to undergo complete bed rest at a place which is more “sanitized, hygienic and sterile.”        

Napoles, through her lawyers, is asking the court to allow her to be confined for an additional period of time at the Osmak to enable her to have a complete bed rest for speedy and full recovery, for easier mobility, practicality and convenience, not only for her, but also for her doctors and the security personnel who will be burdened to transfer her to the hospital and back for her check-ups.

The motion adds that allowing Napoles to stay longer at the Osmak would give her the needed environment to recover which is “sanitary, hygienic and sterile.” The motion also says that a longer hospital stay for Napoles would allow her to receive sufficient medical care for pain management and wound care as she is diabetic.

Finally, Napoles’s lawyers said her doctors, Elsie Badillo-Pascua and Dr. Efren Domingo, cannot make house calls and could only see Napoles at a hospital or a clinic.

The court has set the motion for hearing on May 14 at 1:30 p.m.

Napoles has submitted an affidavit to the Department of Justice, detailing her participation in the pork barrel fund scam. She has also implicated several officials, including Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Bong Revilla.