No hospital arrest for Ampatuan Jr. – NBI

MANILA, Nov. 28 — The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Saturday said there will be no hospital arrest for Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.

Reports said Ampatuan Jr. complained of difficulty in breathing Saturday but was kept locked up at the NBI jail. in-house doctors who checked on him said he was in good health.

Ampatuan was indicted Friday for Monday’s massacre in Maguindanao that killed 57 people, among them relatives of rival Muslim politician, Esmael Mangudadatu, journalists and passing motorists.

“At the moment his breathing is normal,” said Deputy Director for Technical Services Reynaldo Esmeralda, who maintained there was no need to take the “high-risk detainee” to the hospital.

Esmeralda added that there has been no formal request from Ampatuan’s lawyers to seek his hospital arrest.

NBI Director Nestor Mantaring also said in a report by ABS-CBN’s ANC Prime News there will be no special treatment for Ampatuan Jr.

Ampatuan’s lawyer earlier claimed his client was having difficulty breathing inside his cell.

Ampatuan Jr., the prime suspect in the massacre last Monday of 57 people in Maguindanao, has tested negative for illegal drugs, according to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

NBI officials also said there was no trace of illegal substances in Ampatuan’s urine sample.

An NBI official said Ampatuan only tested positive for the use of benzodiazepine, a sleep inducing drug. The massacre suspect admitted to investigators that he has been taking a drug called Rivotril.

The NBI official, however, said that the drug test does not exactly clear Ampatuan from drug use as some illegal substances can be cleared from urine in just 48 hours.

Ampatuan was picked up by authorities Thursday morning, three days after the country's worst ever election-related violent incident.

The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said they have received information that drugs were also involved in the massacre. <P>Majority of the victims were members and supporters of the Mangudadatu clan, including the wife of Buluan vice-mayor Esmael Mangudadatu, who is opposing the Ampatuans in the gubernatorial race in the province.

The drug test was among the medical procedures which Ampatuan was made to take after he was brought to the NBI custodial center. (PNA)V3/JCA

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