Health Secretary Francisco Duque III yesterday named five of the 15 medical staff and students who were present in the operating room during a controversial surgery last Jan. 3 at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in Cebu City where doctors removed a perfume canister from a patient’s rectum. The procedure was recorded on video without the patient’s permission and uploaded on YouTube, a video sharing website.
Named were Dr. Philip Leo Arias, head surgeon; Dr. Angelo Alinawagan, assisting surgeon; Dr. Max Joseph Montecillo, a surgeon at an adjacent operating room; nursing attendant Rosemarie Villareal and circulating nurse Carmenia Sapio.
The patient yesterday filed criminal and administrative charges before the Ombudsman for the Visayas. Although the complainant – a florist and resident of Barangay Basak-Pardo – did not name the respondents in his eight-page sworn statement, Assistant Ombudsman Virginia Palanca-Santiago said those responsible for the unauthorized uploading of the footage on YouTube may be identified during the investigation that formally started yesterday.
Another aspect of the investigation will focus on why the VSMMC medical personnel allowed so many people inside the operating room even if they were unauthorized.
The Department of Health (DOH) is now reviewing the recommendation of the VSMMC fact-finding committee that administrative charges be filed against the medical staff.
A “show cause order” has been issued by the DOH, directing these “primary respondents” to explain why charges should not be lodged against them.
