WellMed whistle-blowers placed under WPP

PhilHealth ‘ghost claims’ scam

MANILA, Philippines — The two whistle-blowers in the anomaly involving multibillion-peso bogus claims paid by the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) to dialysis treatment centers have been placed in the government’s witness protection program (WPP).

Edwin Roberto and Liezel Aileen de Leon are now state witnesses, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra confirmed yesterday.

“They were provisionally admitted into the WPP for 90 days pending preliminary investigation of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the anomaly,” Guevarra said.

Roberto and De Leon, former employees of WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center, will be provided with security for their protection, according to the DOJ chief.

In their affidavits, Roberto and De Leon tagged the executives of WellMed led by physician-businessman Bryan Sy in the anomaly.

Roberto alleged that on March 30, 2016, Sy ordered him to try to charge a dialysis billing amounting to P2,600 to PhilHealth claims of deceased individuals.

He claimed that prior to his resignation in March 2018, a total amount of P600,000 covering 200 dialysis sessions were paid by PhilHealth to WellMed.

The DOJ has indicted Sy before the Quezon City Regional Trial Court for 17 counts of estafa and falsification of documents. 

On Tuesday, the DOJ started its preliminary investigation on the charges against seven other WellMed executives: John Ray Gonzales, medical director; Claro Sy, chairman; Alvin Sy, corporate treasurer; Therese Francesca Tan, purchasing officer; Dick Ong, administration officer, and physicians Porshia Natividad and Joemie Soriano.

The respondents were ordered to submit their counter-affidavits in the next hearing.