Revilla hospital stay extended

MANILA, Philippines - Doctors attending to former senator Ramon Revilla Jr. at the St. Luke’s Medical Center (SLMC) in Taguig have recommended his continued stay at the hospital.

Philippine National Police custodial service unit head, Superintendent Arnel Apud, said the doctors want Revilla to undergo a biopsy.

In a letter to the Sandiganbayan, he said custodial security escorts led by him tried to fetch Revilla from the hospital at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday but Dr. Rolando Ochoa did not allow him to be discharged.

Revilla, who is on trial for plunder for his alleged involvement in the pork barrel fund scam, was rushed to the PNP Hospital last week after he experienced vomiting, severe headache and hypertension while detained at the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame.

He was later transferred to SLMC where he is undergoing various tests and observation to determine his condition. 

Revilla has been detained since June 2014 when the Office of the Ombudsman filed plunder charges against him and fellow senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada.