FOUR doctors of the Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City were cleared recently of charges fro alleged violation of Republic Act No. 9208, or Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. In a resolution penned by City Prosecutor II Romeo Chatto on January 22 and approved by City Prosecutor Adriano Montes, Dra. Emma Dominguez, Arlene Galo, Laurjena Nagulada and Jon Mark Verga were exonerated from the charges. The complaint was ordered dismissed “for lack of legal basis”. Dominguez is head of the Pediatrics Department, while Galo and Nagulada are Medical Officers III of said hospital. Dr. Verga is a resident physician of the Pathology Department. The case – initiated by a joint complaint –affidavit of spouses Cresenciano Lamoste and Adelyn Gonzales dated October 30, 209 stemmed from the autopsy conducted on their two-month old child, Creslyn Gonzales Lamoste, who died in said hospital on September 23, 2009. The autopsy, which had the written consent of the child's mother, was done by Dr. Verga for scientific purposes. The doctors of GCGMH desired to have definite diagnosis of the multi-organ involvement relative to the death of the baby considering a possible “congenital anomaly”.

In the process, Dr. Verga removed parts of the internal organs that revealed abnormal features, including the heart. These parts, and the whole heart, are kept at the Histopathology Department of the hospital. The complainant in the case were assisted by lawyer Salvador Diputado, while the defense for respondents Dominguez, Galo and Nagulada was handled by human rights lawyer Artemio Cabatos, Dr. Verga was assisted by lawyer Gregorio Austral. The defense contended that “trafficking in persons”, as defined in R.A. 9208 involved only living persons, and not a cadaver under autopsy for scientific, diagnostic purposes. “Autopsy was not among the acts constituting trafficking in persons as defined in and penalized under R.A. 9208”, Cabatos contended in a manifestation submitted to the City Prosecution Office. The prosecutor's resolution categorically stated; “We found R.A. 9208 not applicable to the case of baby Lamoste. We agreed with the contention of respondents that the act complained of was not one of the acts of trafficking in persons declared unlawful under Section 4, Paragraph (a) to (h) of the same R.A. 9208. The three elements of trafficking in persons for the removal or sale of organs were not present in this case, thus, the complaint has to be dismissed.