Court rejects house arrest plea of DPWH exec charged with Zaldy Co

‘MANANANGGAL’ PROJECT. Work resumes on a 2022 flood control project in Oriental Mindoro amid the controversy over anomalous flood control projects. Bonz Dolor/Facebook Former DPWH official Juliet Calvo, who faces charges over a P289.5-million dike project, will be returned to jail even after suffering a stroke Juliet Calvo, a former public works official, will not be allowed to serve her detention at home despite suffering a stroke, as ruled by the Sandiganbayan. Her lawyers requested home detention for better care and to alleviate financial strain from hospital bills, but the court decided that the jail could provide adequate medical support. This is AI-generated. Read the article for full context. Report any errors. MANILA, Philippines – A former public works official facing a corruption case together with fugitive former lawmaker Zaldy Co will not be allowed to serve her detention at home, despite suffering a stroke, the anti-graft Sandiganbayan has ruled. Juliet Calvo, once head of the maintenance division of the Department of Public Works and Highways in the Calabarzon region, remains in custody as a defendant in the case against Co, former representative of the Ako Bicol party-list, over alleged irregularities in a P289.5-million infrastructure project in Oriental Mindoro. The Sandiganbayan’s 6th Division, in a September 10 decision, rejected Calvo’s request for house arrest. Instead, it gave her 30 days of continued confinement at the Philippine Heart Center from September 11, while she recovers from the stroke. She is due to return to the Quezon City Jail-Female Dormitory on October 11. Calvo is charged with the resigned congressman with malversation of public funds in connection with the construction of a road dike along the Mag-Asawang Tubig River in Tagumpay, Naujan, Oriental Mindoro. In a letter to the court, Jail Chief Inspector Aubrey Gutierrez said Calvo was taken to the Quezon Memorial Medical Center on August 5 after suffering a stroke. When she regained consciousness, she supposedly had difficulty communicating and was unable to move parts of her body. She was later transferred to The Medical City on Ortigas Avenue in Pasig City because the first hospital lacked the equipment needed to treat her condition. From there, she was brought to the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City, where she remained confined. At a September 2 hearing, Calvo’s physician, Anthony Lontoc, said there was no assurance that she would recover the ability to walk or speak normally. He also said it was unclear whether she would eventually be able to eat or manage her personal needs without assistance. Her lawyers sought permission for Calvo to continue her detention at home after leaving the hospital, saying she could receive care there from relatives and private medical professionals. They also pointed to the growing hospital bills, which they said were placing an increasing strain on her family. Prosecutors agreed that Calvo should remain hospitalized for the time being but objected to transferring her custody to her home. Jail Chief Inspector Aubrey Gutierrez, meanwhile, told the court that the Quezon City Jail-Female Dormitory had two beds for patients, nurses available around the clock and two doctors who could be called when needed. While the jail clinic was not equipped to treat someone recovering from a stroke, she said its medical staff could provide nursing care and give Calvo the medicines prescribed by her doctors. Gutierrez also cited a previous case in which the jail had cared for a bedridden person deprived of liberty who had suffered a stroke. The court relied on the jail’s stated capacity to provide care when it turned down Calvo’s request to recover at home following her release from the hospital. – Rappler.com How does this make you feel? Loading