MANILA, Philippines — The Court of Appeals (CA) has overturned a Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC) ruling that allowed the discharge of a whistleblower in the alleged 2019 “ghost dialysis” scheme to become a state witness.
In a 24-page decision dated Oct. 30, the appellate court’s 11th Division reinstated a Municipal Trial Court (MTC) decision that denied the motion to discharge Liezel Aileen de Leon as a state witness.
The CA ruling effectively holds that De Leon must continue to stand trial as one of the accused in the case.
The appellate court also directed the RTC to lift the suspension of proceedings and resolve the case with dispatch.
The case stemmed from the criminal information filed in 2019 for the crime of estafa through falsification of public documents against several individuals connected to the WellMed Dialysis and Laboratory Center Corp. in Quezon City.
The scheme was exposed in a three-part Inquirer investigative report. Former WellMed employees Edwin Roberto and De Leon accused their employer of defrauding the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) by allegedly using dead patients to file kidney treatment claims.
The revelation led to the discovery of irregularities in the state health insurance firm and led to the forced resignation of its top officials.
De Leon and Roberto were among those charged as authorities said this was a necessary step before they could be tapped as state witnesses. Also charged were Bryan Christopher...
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