VMMC doctors favor furlough for GMA

MANILA, Philippines - Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s attending physicians are very much in favor of her being granted a three-day birthday furlough next month.

Pulmonologist Martha Nocum, who heads the medical team tasked to oversee her health condition at the Veterans Memorial and Medical Center (VMMC), told the Sandiganbayan yesterday that the short furlough to Lubao, Pampanga will be beneficial to the former President.

Testifying before the anti-graft court’s First Division on a hearing on Arroyo’s motion requesting that she be allowed to spend her April 5 birthday in her home province, she said taking Arroyo out of confinement is one of their recommendations because they have seen no improvement in her condition since her confinement at the VMMC in 2011.

In the medical certificate signed by Nocum that was submitted to the anti-graft court, the VMMC doctor stated that Arroyo’s “minimal improvement could be due to limited mobility and confined environment which are not conducive to a speedy recuperation.”

The Sandiganbayan, after the hearing, said the motion to allow the former President to celebrate her birthday in Pampanga is deemed submitted for resolution.