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[av_heading heading=’No more hospital arrest for Antique’s ex-guv ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY ADRIAN STEWART CO
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MANILA – The Sandiganbayan ordered the transfer of former Antique governor Jovito Plameras Jr. from the Angel Salazar Memorial General Hospital in San Jose, Antique to the provincial jail.
In a four-page resolution released on Tuesday, the anti-graft court’s Special Third Division ended the hospital detention of the 81-year-old Plameras whom it found guilty of graft.
Plameras had been on hospital arrest since April 2015. He was diagnosed with hypertension when he was about to be transferred to the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.
Plameras was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment on Dec. 2, 2008. He was also perpetually disqualified from holding public office.
In 1997 the provincial government purchased grade school desks and armchairs for various elementary schools in Antique. Plameras’ administration paid supplier CKL Enterprises P5.67 million in 1997.
Only 1,294 desks and 1,838 armchairs were delivered but the court found out that the provincial government paid for 1,354 desks and 5,246 armchairs.
The graft complaint against Plameras was filed by his then fierce political rival Exequiel Javier.
Plameras, who suffered a stroke that resulted to the paralysis of the left side of his body two years ago, appealed his case before the Supreme Court but lost in 2013.
In 2015, Plameras was scheduled for detention at the New Bilibid Prison but a hypertension diagnosis by Dr. Samuel Tonogan resulted to the former governor’s hospital arrest instead.
A separate medical report by Western Visayas Medical Center’s Dr. Lester Dizmon stated that Plameras cannot be moved to the New Bilibid Prison because he is not fit to travel by air, but he can be detained in the provincial jail.
“Considering the testimony of Dr. Tonogan and Dr. Dizmon, there is no more imperative need for the continued hospital detention of the accused,” the Sandiganbayan ruled. “It only showed that the accused is not fit to travel by air (to Manila).”/PN
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