Sandiganbayan allows Revilla to undergo check-up and therapy

Senator Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla Jr. (screencap from Solar News)

MANILA — The Sandiganbayan granted on Thursday the motion of detained Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. to allow him to undergo check-up and six therapy sessions in a span of two weeks.

“After deliberating on the matter, the Court resolves to grant the motion for humanitarian considerations,” the First Division of the anti-graft court said in a two-page ruling.

In a motion filed early last month, Revilla asked the Sandiganbayan First Division to allow him to undergo check-up and physical therapy at the Philippine National Police General Hospital (PNPGH) in Camp Crame for at least three times a week or six sessions for two weeks.

Revilla claimed that he has again been experiencing “severe pain at his back, causing him great discomfort and at times difficulty in sleeping and breathing.”

Revilla cited in his argumentation that based on the medical certificates issued by his attending physicians at the St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City and the PNP General Hospital, he was diagnosed with Achilles Tendonitis (the degeneration of the fibers in the Achilles tendon) on both feet, osteoarthritis and lumbar herniated nucleus pulposus (the tearing of some fibers in his lumbar spine), which caused the pain on his back and neck.

The Court did not give weight on the prosecution’s argument that Revilla’s camp failed to establish the necessity and urgency of the medical treatment the senator was seeking for.

Although it did not set the specific dates for the check-up and therapy sessions, the Court said each session must not exceed one hour.

The Court also directed the PNP to implement strict security measures during Revilla’s transfer from and back to his detention cell and “to report to the Court the dates and time the sessions took place within five days after the last session conducted.”

Revilla is under detention in connection with the plunder and graft charges filed against him in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel scam.

The Court had earlier allowed his previous motions to undergo medical check-ups at the PNP General Hospital and even at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Global City.