By Dhel Nazario
Former senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson has questioned the costs borne by taxpayers when high‑profile personalities facing arrest are confined at the Philippine National Police General Hospital (PNP‑GH)—a facility intended primarily for police personnel and their dependents.
Lacson cited the recent confinement of former DPWH secretary Manuel Bonoan and Senator Rodante Marcoleta, both facing plunder and graft charges before the Sandiganbayan, as examples of non‑dependents admitted to the PNP‑GH.
He noted that reports have surfaced of PNP members being denied admission despite entitlement, while prominent detainees are accommodated.
“Who shoulders the costs for the stay and medication of Bonoan and Marcoleta? As far as I know, neither of them are PNP dependents,” Lacson said, stressing that the hospital’s budget is funded by taxpayers.
Beyond the financial burden, Lacson underscored what he described as a recurring pattern: prominent figures suddenly falling ill once cited in contempt or served with arrest warrants.
“When the arrest warrant comes out, so does the medical condition—you name it, pneumonia, high blood pressure, back pains. The diseases come out when the arrest warrant comes out,” he remarked.
He recalled similar cases in the past, including the confinement of Juan Ponce Enrile during the pork barrel scam proceedings, and said he intends to raise the issue during deliberations on the proposed 2027 budgets of the PNP and the Department of the Interior and Local Government.
“I will ask who are authorized to be confined there and who shoulders the expenses when non‑dependents are admitted,” Lacson said, adding that taxpayers deserve clarity on both the observed hospitalization pattern and the costs it entails.
