(Update-7) Ermita: FG 'out of danger'

Jan	07
2009

abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/21/2008 11:19 PM

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First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo had "intense stomach pain" Friday evening on board a Philippine Air Lines plane while he, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the rest of the Philippine delegation were on their way to Peru for the APEC leaders' meeting.

In an interview Saturday on Vice President Noli de Castro's radio program over dzMM, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Mr. Arroyo had "intense stomach pain", which forced the chartered PAL flight to make an emergency stop over in Japan.

Ermita said Mr. Arroyo was assessed by doctors and they learned at around 1:30 am that the First Gentleman was already "out of danger." He said the illness was not due to his heart operation in 2007.

Ermita said President Arroyo and the rest of the Philippine delegation to APEC already left for Peru.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo also said early Saturday that Mr. Arroyo had a "stomach problem", not a heart attack.

In a text message, Interior and Local Government Assistant Secretary Brian Yamsuan said Mr. Arroyo experienced stomach cramps and back pains during the flight. This was also how he felt before his previous emergencies which is why they decided to stop over in Japan.

Yamsuan said this information came from Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who was able to talk with Congressman Rodolfo Antonino, a member of the Philippine delegation to APEC who was also on the flight.

Antonino reportedly told Puno that Mr. Arroyo will remain in Japan for further analysis. He will fly back to Manila as soon as his doctors give him the clearance to travel.

Doctors of the First Gentleman in the Philippines have already left for Osaka, Japan to help attend to Mr. Arroyo, Ermita said.

The chartered Philippine Air Lines (PAL) flight carrying the President and her husband landed in Osaka at 23:05 pm, Manila time (00:05, Saturday in Japan).

Mr. Arroyo was to be brought to Izumisano Emergency Hospital, sources in Osaka said.

Mr. Arroyo's cardiologist, Dr. Antonio Sibulo said Mr. Arroyo is already in stable condition. "He is clearly at risk for the next five years. The possibility of recurrence [of heart attack] is still very high," Sibulo told ANC.

On April 9, 2007, Mr. Arroyo underwent a successful ten-hour open heart surgery after being diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm. After the operation, he has been undergoing weekly therapy at St. Luke's Medical Center in Quezon City. -- with a report from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News

as of 11/22/2008 11:07 AM