SC to look into Dr. Iggy’s case

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo yesterday said the Supreme Court would look into the case of Dr. Benigno "Iggy" Agbayani Jr., the orthopedic surgeon who died in a Manila jail in October.

Gesmundo, during "Meet the Press," said, "We can't just say that this is what we will do. We will review it, and based on the results, we may create new instructions or rules so the same situation will not happen again."

Gesmundo said Agbayani's lawyer may have committed some lapses.

"Apparently, there was. I don't know, there were some lapses committed by the lawyer. I think that's the main, the root cause of the issues that came out," Gesmundo said.

"So we apply the CPRA here, the Code of Professional Responsibility. Let's take a look. The CPRA is not enough to be able to address these incidents where lawyers are apparently not doing their tasks effectively and efficiently to protect the interest of their clients. We will look into that," he said.

A judicial review was demanded by several doctors and medical professionals in November pertaining to case of the late doctor.

To recall, Agbayani was jailed in May of this year after a court convicted him of reckless imprudence resulting in serious physical injuries in a case filed by Saul Hofileña Jr.,  one of his former patients.

An online petition is being conducted for a judicial review of the case.