The Sandiganbayan Sixth Division approved the request of a former Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) official from the District Engineering Office of MIMAROPA to receive a medical checkup at the Philippine Heart Center.

The motion was lodged by DPWH-MIMAROPA Construction Division chief Dominic Serrano at the anti-graft court on Thursday, 23 July, during a hearing into the case of malversation and graft filed against him, other fellow officials of the Public Works agency, and former congressman Zaldy Co.

Serrano was said to have various coronary stents that were meant to maintain blood flow through his arteries.

His lawyer, Gideon Ventura, asked the justices of the court to allow the official’s family to assist the accused in his hospital visit — a request that was denied.

The case against Co and his co-accused was based on a P289.4-million road dike project in Naujan, Oriental Mindoro.