Missing Philhealth checks: Woman charged for estafa, falsification

CEBU, Philippines – A woman who allegedly claimed to be PhilHealth employee was charged with nine counts of estafa through falsification and two counts of falsification over the loss of 28 PhilHealth checks issued to the Cebu City Medical Center.

Janice D. Tecson, who used the alias Ruth Adlawan Concha, 28, of Banilad Greens Subdivision, Banilad, Cebu City, is facing charges before the Cebu City Prosecu-tor's Office after she encashed the PhilHealth checks she got from PhilHealth checks in-charge Mary Ann Lopez.

Attorney Reynan Oliva of National Bureau of Investigation said that they conducted an investigation upon the request of Myrna Go, chief of hospital of the Cebu City Medical Center.

He said that while there is an actual Ruth Adlawan Concha who works in the Mactan Economic Zone II, Lapu-lapu City, she is not involved in the case.

The one who posed as Concha was actually Tecson as attested to by witnesses Peter Regalado, Bert Colong and Josephine Utrera who identified the woman through a photograph as the one who approached them and encashed the checks.

The witnesses said that they encashed the checks brought by Tecson as it had some references that it has authorization letter from Go believed that Tecson was author-ized to encash the checks.

Tecson was able to encash nine checks amounting to P129,719.75

In the afternoon of April 30, 2010, Rita Avilluna, administrative aide of the CCMC billing section received a call from a certain "Kristine", who claimed to be con-nected with PhilHealth. Avilluna forwarded the call to Maria Lourdes Archua, head of CCMC billing section.

Archua allegedly informed by Kristine that there was a system change in PhilHealth and that all check payments issued by the company must be withdrawn to be stamped with PhilHealth seal otherwise, the checks will not be accepted by the new system.

On May 4, in the morning, Avilluna again received a call and forwarded it to Lopez, the PhilHealth check in-charge of their office.

The caller identified herself as Mary Ann Garcia, who claimed to be connected with PhilHealth, asked Lopez if they had in their possession PhilHealth checks intended for doctor's fees.

Lopez said that professional fees of doctors are sent directly to them and not to CCMC. Garcia asked Lopez which Lopez did not understand so she passed the caller to Maria Lourdes Archua, her superior in the office.

Garcia informed Archua that she needed to withdraw all PhilHealth checks issued to CCMC for stamping with the PhilHealth seal as required in their new system. Garcia further told that she would send a PhilHealth trainee to withdraw the checks from CCMC and to return them immediately after these were stamped with the PhilHealth seal.

Meanwhile, on May 25, 2010 Josette Bacalso, a fiscal controller of the PhilHealth Regional Office-7 wrote Archua, providing her a copy of six checks negotiated by Landbank, the depository bank as part of the 28 checks which have been fraudulently endorsed with forged signatures of Go.

Oliva confirmed that the signature of Go in checks was forged.  (FREEMAN)