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CEBU CITY, Philippines - Outrage over the Black Suede scandal has prompted on-line users to speak out.
At least one YouTube user posted an edited version of the videotape of the operation showing medical staffers taking photos and making fun of an unconscious patient, a male florist who had a spray can removed from his rectum.
This time, the video focuses on the people inside the operating room of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) where the surgery took place last Jan. 3.
The new posting, dubbed ?Cebu Black Suede Scandal Response,? also showed the face of a young man who was identified as the one who allegedly uploaded the original video of the surgery.
Nonoy Mongaya, VSMMC media relations committee member, said the hospital would investigate the new video.
?With the new posting, we still have to check and verify the video,? said Mongaya.
Issues of violation of patient confidentiality , hospital protocol and unprofessional conduct of medical staff are confronting the VSMMC, which has so far withheld the identifies of the doctors and personnel involved.
YouTube users use code names, making identities hard to verify or trace.
Basak Pardo barangay captain Dave Tumulak said someone called his office Tuesday night claiming he was the one who uploaded the original video. But Tumulak said he was not able to take the call because he was busy.
The new video was posted on April 15 by a person whose YouTube user-ID is ?Tamilok13? who, according to his profile, was 30 years old. The new video ran for three minutes and 15 seconds.
In the video information page, Tamilok13 explained that his video was in response to the original video posted by ?joarcfranz,? which contained more details.
?Mapapa-isip tayo kung ilang beses na nangyari to, paano kung sa asawa mo, nanay mo, kapatid mo mangyari to, anong imahe ang gusto nyong ipakita, hindi ko na sinama ang actual operation kasi kawawa naman ang biktima (It made us think how many times has this happened before. What if it happened to your wife, mother, sibling? What kind of image do you want to project? I didn't include the actual operation because the victim was pitiful).?
?I edited most of the video and focused on the medical staff present. I discovered the original video was removed. One commented that I remove my video too, I take that into consideration, until then I'll wait for youtube and I'll watch the news if something has been done to this issue. If you don't see this video tomorrow, then it probably has served its purpose.?
The video's prologue also showed what Tamilok13 felt toward the medical staff.
?Also, I am pissed off because you would think how many times this professionals have done this juvenile act. Remember, this could happen to any of us as long as this people are around (sic).?
The new video shows the logo of VSMMC superimposed on the upper right hand screen and the name of the hospital below.
The sound of people in the operating room jeering and making fun of the unconscious patient can be heard.
Individuals wearing surgical masks were seen taking their own video of the operation using cameras and cellular phones.
The video ended with a black screen with words: ?End this!?
As of 1:32 p.m. yesterday, or 21 hours after it was posted, the new video was viewed 3,855 times.
Various reactions were posted.
?Wala na. Good bye dreams of going out of the country,? said another.
?Sana! Sa mga gumawa nito ay masunogan sila tapos yung makapatid niya ma 3rd degree burn!...Mamatayan sila! (I hope the houses of those who did this burn down and then their brothers and sisters would suffer third degree burns),? commented one viewer.
Dr. Emmanuel Gines, VSMMC media relations committee chairman, said the hospital administration was still investigating the incident for breach of patient confidentiality.
The result is supposed to be released tomorrow by Dr. Gerardo Aquino, the hospital's medical director, who?s arriving from Manila.
Gines, a surgeon, admitted that the hospital had no clear policy about carrying cellphones inside the operating room.
?We do not have a policy on (the) bringing (of) cellphones (in) the operating room. But after the incident, cellphones with or without cameras can no longer be brought into the operating room,? he said.
In the case of the patient Danilo (not his real name), he said records showed there was written consent from the patient to videotape his surgery.
Guiller Ceniza, lawyer of Danilo, said they would wait for the result of the VSMMC investigation before deciding what legal action to take.
But he said it was important for his client that the medical team who operated on him should be sanctioned.
If they aren?t satisfied by the action of the hospital management, they will file a case before the courts and the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC).
Ceniza said that if they decide to file a case, it would be for damages for the humiliation endured by his client.
His face may not have been shown in the videos, but his medical records would confirm that it was him.
Barangay captain Tumulak, who is assisting Danilo in his case, said he was trying to protect the patient from the adverse effects of the scandal.
?Yes, he has received threats. Naa kuno'y daghan muingon niya, manghadlok niya.? said Tumulak.
Danilo and his mother met with Ceniza in Tumulak's office on Tuesday night.
Danilo lamented that everyone in the barangay already knows what happened to him.
?Nauwaw na kaayo ko, naturiring na akong utok. Maglakaw ko daghan na mutan-aw nako (I feel so ashamed. I feel I am going crazy. Everybody looks at me when I walk down the street),? said Danilo.
Danilo said he did not regret telling his story to the media because he wanted justice. He said he has the support of his mother.
?Uwaw kaayo oi,? said the mother.
?Karon nga nikalat, nikayo na man jud ni. Ato na lang padayunon (It is embarrassin. Since it?s already a scandal, we may as well go on with the case),? she said.
The Office of the Ombudsman has docketed for investigation the videotape scandal since it involves staff of a government-owned facility.
A subpoena was issued yesterday by Assistant Deputy Ombudsman in the Visayas Virginia Santiago for Dr/ Aquino to submit Danilo's medical records and a copy of the video foot age within two days.
Aquino's secretary received the subpoena yesterday afternoon.
Aquino was in Manila and would be back in Cebu on Friday.
Santiago said the fact finding investigation is aimed at identifying the doctors, nurses and other people involved in the operation or those seen inside the operating room.
The probe would also determine why many people were allowed inside the operating room.
Commission on Human Rights Regional Director Alejandro Alonso Jr. said the medical staff involved in the operation neglected the patient's rights to privacy.
He said the Danilo should go on with his fight to prevent a similar incident from happening again. /With reports from Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan and Reporter Nilda Gallo
