Doc sued for ‘misconduct’
FOR alleged errors in his autopsy report on Mario Alfie Ducayag, criminal and administrative complaints were filed against the Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional Crime Laboratory’s medico-legal officer.
“Had there been no re-autopsy on my son, justice would have been buried with him, the truth would have decomposed inside his his coffin,” said Ducayag’s mother, Fe Soledad, in her affidavit against Dr. Nestor Sator.
Ducayag, 23, was a shopper who was held for questioning last April 12 inside the Metro Gaisano Colon security personnel’s office. That was the day he died.
Sator’s autopsy report named the cause of death as asphyxia due to bleeding pulmonary tuberculosis. Asphyxia is the lack of oxygen or excess of carbon dioxide in the body.
Foul play
A subsequent autopsy report by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed Ducayag had died because of traumatic neck injuries, which suggested foul play.
Ducayag’s mother filed complaints for grave misconduct, conduct unbecoming of a public officer and violation of Section 3(e) of Republic Act 3019 (Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) against Dr. Sator before the Cebu City Prosecutor’s Office.
A separate complaint for obstruction of justice and an alleged violation of Article 174(1) of the Revised Penal Code, for falsification of a public document, was filed before the Office of the Ombudsman-Visayas.
Dr. Sator also faces medical malpractice and unethical conduct complaints before the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
Ducayag’s mother said his ordeal was “too frightening to go unpunished.”
Fe Soledad and her daughter, Marie Shantylle, were assisted by their lawyer, Wendell Quiban, when they filed the complaints yesterday.
“We suspect there was a cover-up,” said Quiban.
Accusations
Security camera operator Jeffrey Aquino has accused chief security officer Mauricio Doblados of mauling Ducayag until the latter died. But Doblados and house detective Melvin Boyles said it was Aquino who killed the victim.
Atty. Quiban said the family is considering a possible lawsuit suit against Metro Gaisano and its security agency, but they are still waiting for the results of the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) inquiry.
Fe Soledad said the bruise on her son’s chest was “too clear to be left unnoticed” even without a microscope.
She further said: “The injury was enough to alarm Dr. Sator of the presence of foul play, but unfortunately, he indicated the nature of case of my son as pathological, which means that my son died of sickness.”
Dr. Sator, in earlier reports, denied he acted in bad faith. He stood by his findings, but he did not rule out foul play.
He admitted, though, that he did not notice a neck injury during his examination.
Not contented with the result because Ducayag had not been ill, Fe Soledad and her daughter had asked the NBI 7 for a re-autopsy.
Trauma
NBI 7 medico legal officer Dr. Rene Cam discovered that Ducayag died because of traumatic neck injuries.
Tuberculosis was not indicated because there were no traces of blood in the victim’s mouth and tongue, said Dr. Gil Macato in his affidavit.
Ducayag’s head could no longer be held in place because of cervical vertebrae dislocation, but Sator had reported that “no injuries are noted and (there were) no signs of strangulation at the neck nor fractures at the cervical vertebrae.”
Sator reported abnormalities in the lower lobes of the lungs, while Cam’s findings reveal that both lungs were congested and injured in the middle and lower lobes.
Also yesterday, the Police Regional Office (PRO) 7 said it will impose appropriate the sanction if there was, indeed, a discrepancy in Dr. Sator’s autopsy report.
Senior Supt. Armando Radoc, acting chief of the Regional Police Community Relations Division (RPCRD) 7, said they assure the public they will investigate Sator if any lapses on the medico-legal officer’s part are shown.
Procedure
“However, on the issue of Mario Alfie Ducayag’s death, the PRO 7 cannot question the findings of Sator as such would be tantamount to questioning his credibility as a medical doctor,” he said in a press statement.
Radoc said the results of the autopsy by Sator were based on what he saw on Ducayag’s body, and it appeared to have been done in accordance with regular procedures in a forensic medical examination.
But the PRO 7 will not tolerate any wrongdoing by any member of the police that will affect the integrity and credibility of the organization, he added.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Capitol is waiting for Ducayag’s family to seek help from the social welfare office.
“We are just waiting for them to come,” said Acting Gov. Agnes Magpale.
Magpale said she learned that Ducayag has two children, ages one and three years old. He had been separated from his wife.