Gigi suffers panic attack in jail, rushed to hospital

MANILA, Philippines - Jessica Lucila “Gigi” Reyes was taken to a hospital after suffering a panic attack following her transfer to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) female dormitory at Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig on Wednesday night.

A BJMP doctor and at least two relatives accompanied her.

The relatives told doctors that Reyes had a seizure.

Prudencio Sta. Lucia, Taguig-Pateros District Hospital (TPDH) director, said jail guards brought Reyes to the emergency room at about 1:05 a.m.

Reyes reportedly has a history of Bell’s Palsy, a form of facial paralysis caused by a dysfunction of the cranial nerve, he added.

Reyes’ lawyer Anacleto Diaz said his client suffered a panic attack after she was informed that she would be placed in a detention facility containing nine female New People’s Army (NPA) rebels. She learned that they are “hostile and antagonistic” to Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, who was the minister of defense during the Marcos administration, he added.

Sta. Lucia said initial examination showed that Reyes had suffered from hypertension and an attack of neurocirculatory asthenia (NCA), defined as a syndrome of breathlessness, fear of effort, a sense of fatigue, precordial pain and palpitation.

It is generally considered to be a particular manifestation of an anxiety disorder.

Speaking to reporters, Sta. Lucia said Reyes had a blood pressure of 170/110 when she arrived at the emergency room.

Sta. Lucia said Reyes is confined at a ward in the hospital.

“We will closely monitor her just to make sure that she has no other problems,” he said. “Tomorrow, probably we could come up with another medical bulletin on her condition.”

Sta. Lucia said when Reyes arrived at the hospital, she was complaining of anxiety and stiffening of her hands and feet.

“Right now we are monitoring her condition,” he said. “She is on dextrose. We are monitoring her blood pressure. It has gone down. It’s now 130/90.”

Sta. Lucia said Reyes complained that her hands and feet were stiffening.

“Her relatives suspect that she had a seizure,” he said. “Attorney Reyes was also hysterical when she was taken to the emergency room, according to our attending physician. Our diagnosis is more on anxiety disorder, and that she is hypertensive.”

Sta. Lucia said they need to monitor Reyes’ condition for at least 24 hours as she has a history of coronary heart problems.

“If not checked, Reyes could either have a heart attack or a stroke,” he said. “What I know is that she has a history of coronary heart problem. A very high blood pressure could trigger any cardiovascular attack, heart attack or stroke or anything worse.”

Sta. Lucia said Reyes was given medication upon arriving as she was complaining of back pains.

“She was given anti-hypertensive medications, then analgesic as she was complaining of muscle pain, back pain,” he said.

Sta. Lucia said that Reyes was also hysterical and crying when she arrived.

“As per record in our chart, our doctors saw that she was still quite hysterical,” he said.

But after giving anti-anxiety medication, she became quite relaxed. But she still had some episodes of crying.

Reyes would have crying episodes at the hospital even when given anti-anxiety medications, he added.

After treatment at the emergency room, Reyes was brought to an air-conditioned six-bed private ward at the hospital’s third floor.

However, Sta. Lucia said Reyes was moved to a smaller air-conditioned private room on the second floor as the hospital needs the ward for other patients.

Reyes will be the only patient in the room which has no amenities except for the air-conditioner, he added.

Sta. Lucia said Reyes had made no request to be transferred to another hospital.

The TPDH is equipped to handle her hypertension and NCA, he added.

However, Sta Lucia said other procedures like laboratory works and other workups could not be performed by the hospital.

“It would be better to take her to a tertiary hospital. Based on history, she has Bell’s Palsy. Her coronary artery disease could also be a problem later if her hypertension continues. Higher workups can be done in other medical centers.” Ten BJMP security men posted outside Reyes’ room screens her visitors, he added.

Sta. Lucia said the hospital will decide if Reyes is stable enough to be released this morning.

“We would rather observe her in our hospital,” he said. “We will come out with a medical bulletin after 24 hours. Her vital signs are stable except symptoms related to NCA. We need to monitor these symptoms, including attacks of hysteria.”

Sta. Lucia said they will also be observing Reyes for any symptoms of seizure disorders. “We will also have to rule out seizure disorders, seizure attacks or convulsions.”

Solitary confinement

Upon arriving at the BJMP facility in Camp Bagong Diwa in Taguig, Reyes was placed in a solitary confinement cell for pregnant detainees inside the female dormitory. The cell has four beds and an electric fan.

A jail officer said Reyes was subjected to booking procedures when she arrived at about 11 p.m. Wednesday.

Wearing a white T-shirt, she was accompanied by a brother to the detention facility.

Based on BJMP standard operating procedure, cash and other personal property are taken from the inmate and he or she would be issued receipt.

The inmate is then fingerprinted and photographed. He or she is then strip-searched to check for any body markings, cuts and bruises to be indicated in the booking report.

The BJMP female jail dormitory has 138 high profile and high-risk detainees, including female guerillas of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) captured during the Zamboanga City siege, foreigners, Abu Sayyaf and NPA rebels and other high risk detainees.

It is separate from the main jail where male Ampatuan massacre suspects and other high profile inmates are detained.

Reporters covering the transfer of Reyes were barred from getting near the facility. Television crew were on standby almost a kilometer away.

At the main gate of Camp Bagong Diwa, additional policemen were deployed to process the people entering.

Media were advised against going to the BJMP area.

Reyes wants to be in Crame

Reyes asked the Sandiganbayan yesterday to reconsider its decision denying her request to be detained at the Philippine National Police (PNP) custodial center in Camp Crame.

In a motion for reconsideration, her lawyer Diaz told the anti-graft court’s Third Division she suffered a severe panic attack shortly after being taken to the female dormitory Wednesday night.

“Her panic attack was so severe that accused Reyes went into seizure and was forced to be carried by several men from the 4th floor down to the ground floor to reach the parking lot where the ambulance was stationed so that accused Reyes could be rushed to the Taguig Pateros District Hospital, which was the nearest government hospital from Camp Bagong Diwa,” read the motion for reconsideration.

“The detention of accused Reyes at the female dormitory of Camp Bagong Diwa with NPA detainees, whom accused Reyes will have to mingle with in the common areas, poses security risks to her life and has caused her fear and contributed to her anxiety.”

At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said the request of Reyes to be detained in Camp Crame will depend on the availability of a facility.

“I guess that will be subject also to availability, but again, we will have to defer to (the PNP),” he said. “They would be in a better position to respond to that in terms of space, in terms of quarters available.”

Lacierda said the police or any government agency will just enforce the commitment order of the Sandiganbayan.

In denying Reyes’ motion to be detained in Camp Crame, the Sandiganbayan said the government must look into the jail problems of the country.

Associate Justice Samuel Martires said: “It’s about time for government to wake up.”

Too many agencies are managing the country’s jails, he added.

The Commission on Human Rights must also do something about the living conditions of detainees, Martires said. – With Michael Punongbayan, Perseus Echeminada, Aurea Calica