The counsel of Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr. has filed before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (QC RTC) Branch 221 an urgent motion to allow Ampatuan Sr. to undergo a medical evaluation by appropriate government physicians to address health concerns.

In a two-page motion filed through the office of Fortun Narvasa & Salazar, the counsel said that the 67-year-old and “sickly” Ampatuan “has recurring symptoms of high blood pressure and difficulty in breathing.”

The document noted that Ampatuan Sr. was taken directly to the Davao Medical Center due to various ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and difficulty in breathing (pulmonary emphysema) on December 5, 2009.

“Although subsequently diagnosed in March 2010 as fit for incarceration in a jail cell, his ailments have recurred because of the heat, humidity, and stress of detention at the 4th floor of the Bicutan [Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)] detention facility,” the motion stated.

The counsel added that “to preserve accused’s health so as to enable him to withstand trial in these cases, his health should again be evaluated by government physicians as soon as practicable to avert further deterioration of his current ailments.”

It can be recalled that his relative, suspended Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governor Zaldy Ampatuan, filed motions before the same court for medical concerns regarding physical, emotional, and mental wellbeing.

Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes has deemed it proper to allow Zaldy undergo the medical examination.

Meanwhile, Ampatuan Sr.’s plea is still up for discussion in the court on May 24, 2010. Ampatuan Sr. is currently facing murder charges together with more than a hundred suspects for allegedly being responsible for the killing of 57 persons in the infamous Maguindanao massacre last November 23, 2009.