Lawsuit mulled if Manila denied off-island treatment

Steven P. Pixley, a lawyer retained by the Consulate Office of the Republic of the Philippines to represent prisoner Reynaldo A. Manila, is poised to file a lawsuit against the CNMI government if Manila will not be transported off-island to get medical treatment to avoid permanent blind in his left eye.

In a letter to assistant attorney general John Cook on Friday, Pixley said unless arrangements are made to obtain off-island treatment on or before tomorrow, Wednesday, he will file the court action in the U.S. District Court for the NMI seeking appropriate relief without further notice.

The Philippine Consulate in Agatna, Guam asked Pixley to represent Manila with respect to his claim for immediate medical treatment and related issues.

Pixley said AAG Cook recently informed him that the Office of the Governor was handling the Manila matter.

Pixley said the mistreatment of a Philippine citizen held at the Department of Corrections is a serious concern.

Last Dec. 29, Pixley transmitted a letter to DOC Captain Jose K. Pangelinan requesting urgent medical treatment for Manila.

The letter followed a medical report from Dr. Mark Robertson dated Nov. 17, 2015, stating: “Emergency referral to Philippines retinal special ASAP!”

Pixley said DOC has known that his client will go blind unless he receives off-island surgery for almost two months and no action has been taken to obtain this medical treatment.

Pixley said Manila told him on Friday that he was seen by Robertson at the Marianas Eye Clinic last Thursday.

The lawyer said Robertson once again advised Manila that he will be permanently blind in his left eye unless he receives immediate surgery.

“As the Department of Corrections has known for two months, he must be transported off-island to receive medical treatment,” he said.

DOC, Pixley said, is obligated to provide prisoners with adequate medical care under the Eight Amendment.

Citing a precedent case, Pixley said in order to prevail on a constitutional claim of inadequate medical care, prisoners must show that prison officials treated them with “deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.”

Last Dec. 22, the CNMI Board of Parole unanimously voted to support the commutation of the 60-year prison sentence slapped against Manila, who was convicted in 2002 for the death of his 6-month-old goddaughter.

Manila, now 54 years old, has been serving 15 years out of his 60-year prison term.

The commutation hearing was held after Manila applied commutation through the governor’s office. Then-acting governor Ralph DLG Torres consulted the Board of Parole.

Last Jan. 7, governor Torres decided against commutation after taking into account information received from the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Safety on the history of the case.

Torres said due to Manila’s medical conditions, he will work with the OAG to make the necessary arrangements to see that Manila is able to receive the necessary treatment off-island.

Assistant attorney general Matthew Baisley cited a number of reasons why the government opposed the commutation of sentence.

First, Baisley said, the defendant is still five years away to be eligible for parole.

Baisley said Manila was sentenced to 60 years in prison, but he only served 15 years of that sentence.

“He is not eligible for parole until 20 years. So to commute the sentence now means that he served the very small sentence versus what the judge sentenced him to,” he said.

Two is, the prosecutor said, the reason for parole hearing was really about Manila’s medical condition as he has an eye problem.

Baisley said, however, there is no record or evidence that was entered that the defendant’s medical condition is of immediate concern.

He said it also seems that it’s possible that the government could take Manila to Guam for treatment.

The baby’s parents, who are Filipinos, have six children, including the infant who died in this case.

Manila, a Filipino national, was 39 years old when then-Superior Court Associate Judge Virginia Sablan-Onerheim sentenced him in June 2002 to 60 years in prison for second-degree murder over the death of the infant.

The baby lingered in the hospital for several days before dying on Nov. 6, 2000.

A jury found Manila guilty of second-degree murder and child abuse.

At the sentencing, Manila insisted he did not kill the baby. He has a child in the Philippines.

Then-chief prosecutor Clyde Lemons noted that a doctor testified that the baby had 11 bruises at the back of her head consistent with blunt force trauma or being hit with an object.

Lemons said the doctor testified that the baby was shaken “very hard,” consistent with shaken baby syndrome.