The 39-year-old complainant in the
Cebu surgery scandal is eyeing administrative charges against superiors of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center over the incident.
Lawyer Magdalena Lepiten, one of the complainant’s lawyers, said on Saturday that the aggrieved party will focus on expanding the list of personalities covered by administrative charges.
“We believe the hospital administrators and supervisors should be made accountable. If they managed the hospital well, this would not have happened," Lepiten said in an interview on dzRH radio.
She said they are leaving it to the Ombudsman to determine criminal charges against those involved in taking a
video of the operation and posting it to the
Internet.
Earlier, the health department named
five doctors and nurses who now face administrative sanctions for their involvement in the incident.
The lawyer also said that they will push for more sensitivity training for medical professionals, asserting that government doctors do not see anything wrong with debasing their patients.
“Government doctors have become insensitive by dehumanizing and debasing their patients. That is a reflection of their competence. They think they are competent so long as the operation is successful. They must be trained that sensitivity to their patients is also a measure of competence," she said.
She added that there is a need for “more education how to treat people regardless of sexuality or sexual orientation."
“I don’t think this is isolated case," she said, referring to the case she was handling.
Lepiten added that her client is currently trying to find work and is continuing to shy away from media.
